Monasterio de la Cartuja

The Monasterio de la Cartuja (“Carthusian Monastery”) or Monastery of Santa María de las Cuevas is located in the relatively new Sevilian district of Isla de la Cartuja. It was created for the Expo ’92.

History is in the air here. The Almohad (confessors of the Unity of God) used this area in the twelfth century as a porcelain or ceramic factory, due to the abundance of clay. After the time of the Arabs, the Hermitage of Santa María de las Cuevas was built here in 1400 and became the Monastery of the Virgen de las Cuevas. In the fifteenth century, the Order of the Carthusians was established with the financial support of the Ribera family.

The monastery also was visited by personalities like Christopher Columbus, who was buried here.

In 1810, the Monasterio de la Cartuja was completely looted by the French and used as a military base. Later, it was bought by English entrepreneur Pickman, who installed a tile factory. Today, fireplaces are still bottle-shapped, which gives the monastery a very special feature.

The factory was dissolved in 1982 and was transferred to the state government. In 1964, the monastery received the title of National Cultural Heritage. Today, it is headquarters of the Andalusian Centre of Contemporary Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art of Seville. Numerous concerts, exhibitions and conferences are held here.

Undoubtedly, the Monasterio de la Cartuja in Seville is one of the tourist attractions you should visit when in the city.

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