Tower of Gold - Seville Naval Museum

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Torre del oro, museo de la marina junto al río

Otra perspectiva de la torre del oro con el museo de la marina en su interior donde se ve las aguas del río

The Tower of Gold is a 13th century defensive tower from which a thick chain extended to the other side of the river to cut off enemy ships.

This 36-metre high watchtower, located on the left bank of the River Guadalquivir, has three bodies: the first two are dodecagonal, the first was erected by the Almohads while the second was built by Peter I "The Cruel". The third body is cylindrical and topped with a dome, and was erected in the 18th century. The tower defended the river entrance to the Barcas Bridge and, by land, the access to the Arenal with its industrial activity. This tower was linked to the Tower of Silver through some wall sections called "coracha", which in turn were linked to the Alcazar.

In 1944 the Naval Museum was inaugurated inside the Tower of Gold, for which 400 pieces were moved from the Madrid Naval Museum. The museum is distributed over two floors that can be visited and a panoramic terrace, with hitorical pieces about the history of the tower and the port of Seville in Arab times, its importance in the reconquest of the town, the port the door to the New World, the decline of the port and contemporary Seville.

Before being a museum, the monument was used as a chapel, a noblemen's prison, a gunpowder warehouse, the offices of the port captain office and naval command headquarters.

Along with the Giralda, it is one of the most representative symbols of Seville. It was declared a historic-artistic monument in 1931.