The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See (Spanish: Catedral de Santa María de la Sede), better known as Seville Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Seville (Andalusia, Spain). It is the largest Gothic cathedral and the third-largest church in the world. It is also the largest cathedral in the world, as the two larger churches, the Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida and St Peter's Basilica, are not the seats of bishops. It was registered in 1987 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, along with the Alcázar palace complex and the General Archive of the Indies. "See" refers to the Episcopal see, i.e., the bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction.
After its completion in the early 16th century, the Seville Cathedral supplanted Hagia Sophia as the largest cathedral in the world, a title the Byzantine church had held for nearly a thousand years. The cathedral is also the burial site of Christopher Columbus. The Archbishop's Palace is located on the northeastern side of the cathedral.
Seville (/səˈvɪl/; Spanish: Sevilla [seˈβiʎa], locally: [seˈβi(ɟ)ʝa]) is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville, Spain. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir. The inhabitants of the city are known as sevillanos (feminine form: sevillanas) or hispalenses, after the Roman name of the city, Hispalis. Seville has a municipal population of about 703,000 as of 2011, and a metropolitan population of about 1.5 million, making it the fourth-largest city in Spain and the 30th most populous municipality in the European Union. Its Old Town, the third largest in Europe with an area of 4 square kilometres (2 sq mi), contains three UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Alcázar palace complex, the Cathedral and the General Archive of the Indies. The Seville harbour, located about 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the Atlantic Ocean, is the only river port in Spain. Seville is also the hottest major metropolitan area in Europe, with summer average high temperatures of above 35 °C.
The Province of Seville (Spanish: Sevilla) is a province of southern Spain, in the western part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is bordered by the provinces of Málaga, Cádiz in the south, Huelva in the west, Badajoz in the north and Córdoba in the east. Seville is the province's as well as the Andalusian autonomous community's capital.
Located on Guadalquivir river's southern bank the city is the largest one in Andalusia. The former province of Andalusia was divided by the Moors into four separate kingdoms—Seville, Cordova, Jaen and Granada. Seville is biggest province of Andalusia in terms of GDP. The Provinces of Málaga (€ 28,506 million) and Cadiz (€ 22,574 million) are 2nd and 3rd respectively. The Port of Seville is of great economic importance to the province.
Seville or Sevilla can refer to several cities, towns and municipalities.