Provincial Historical Archive. Seville

The exhibition on the Carrera de Indias and the importance of the city of Seville in this transcendental Trade Route and Enterprise, which lasted for more than 250 years and was practically a global monopoly. Visitors will enjoy visual content of great historical value, providing significant insight into an essential part of Spain’s history.

The Provincial Historical Archive of Seville was established by Order of the Ministry of Culture on 2 July 1987 (BOE 20 July 1987), with the purpose of collecting, preserving, and disseminating the historical documentary holdings generated by the State Administration in the province of Seville. Additionally, the Archive includes documents from the Peripheral Administration of the Regional Government of Andalusia that have lost their administrative validity.

The Archive was officially inaugurated on 1 September 1991 and opened to the public in November of the same year.

The management of the Centre, which is state-owned, is the responsibility of the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, by virtue of Royal Decree 864/1984, of 29 February. Agreements between the Ministry of Culture and the Autonomous Community, dated 18 October 1984 (BOE 18 January 1985) and 23 May 1994 (BOE 2 June 1994), established the framework for this management.

The Archive is located in the historic centre of the city, in a building constructed between 1895 and 1908 by architects José Gallego y Díaz and José López. It was built on the site of the old grain exchange (alhóndiga) to house the Courts of Seville and other municipal offices.

In the 1970s, the building was closed and abandoned until 1982 when refurbishment and adaptation works for the Provincial Historical Archive began. These works were completed in 1987. The architects responsible for the renovation were Antonio Cruz and Antonio Ortiz. Architecturally, the main façade features a neoclassical portico, while the interior is structured around two porticoed courtyards with galleries, between which a splendid marble staircase is situated.The total built area is 4,238 m². It contains 13 storage rooms with a capacity for 10,200 linear metres of documents. Currently, the Archive is almost at full capacity.