Castillo de San Jorge

When you cross the bridge of Traina you see a beautiful ceramic tower protruding, but what is this?

The Castillo de San Jorge was a medieval fortress built on the bank of the Quadalquivir River in Seville. It was also used as the headquarters and prison of the Spanish Inquistie.

The Visigoths thus made a fortress in this area in defense of the City of Spalis, the then name for Seville. In 1171 the king led the water of the Guadalquivir from the castle to the interior of the city, where he had spent a lot of money. The defense complex consisted of the castle itself, defended by a wall with 10 towers and a moat.

The castle's defensive importance declined and in 1481 it became the headquarters of the Spanish Inquisition, in 1626 it was abandoned again by the deterioration of the walls due to a flood of the river.

After this Count-Duke of Olivares took over, taking care of the repairs and maintenance of the castle. In the 17th century it would have been owned by the Inquisition again until its final departure in the 18th century.

In the 19th century it was demolished to build an indoor food market called Mercado de Triana.

Beethoven premiered his Opera Fidelio in 1805, about a prison in Seville where prisoners of conscience were seated at the end of the 18th century. He never specifically mentioned in the text that it was about the prison in this castle, but this is probably the case.

In recent years, Seville has tried to appreciate this chapter in the past.

Is there anything to be found of this castle? Yes, of course, several archaeological excavations were carried out under Mercado de Triana and then they thought that these remains should become a museum.