The Giralda is the 12th-century minaret in Seville that was transformed into a cathedral bell tower.
The Almohads built the original minaret for Seville’s Great Mosque between 1184 and 1198. After the Christian conquest of Seville, the mosque was replaced by the cathedral, while the minaret was retained and adapted. A Renaissance belfry was added in the sixteenth century, creating the tower’s present silhouette.
The name “Giralda” comes from the weather vane figure, known as El Giraldillo, installed near the top. The tower is sometimes confused with Morocco’s Kutubiyya Minaret and Rabat’s Hassan Tower because all belong to the western Islamic architectural tradition and share related proportions. Its surviving lower structure preserves Almohad brickwork, arches, and decorative patterns.