Private Guided Tour of Cartuja Monastery

In its six centuries of experience, the Cartuja Monastery has known moments of great splendour and others of severe crisis. Its geographical location, along the Guadalquivir River, has made it fall victim to numerous floods. The Carthusian community has offered protection and enrichment, particularly the Sevillian families Mena, Ribera and Veraguas.

It was at the Cartuja Monastery where the remains of Christopher Columbus were deposited during thirty years, given that the admiral was a fervent visitor of the Monastery – it was here where he prepared his second voyage to the Americas. Santa María de las Cuevas was also the spiritual retreat for Philip II and was also frequented by Arias Montano and Saint Theresa of Jesus, and all the Spanish Kings that passed through Seville.

In the artistic aspect, the Monastery was enriched by important collections of Alejo Fernández, Durero, Pace Gazini and Aprile de Carona; Montañés and Mesa; Murillo, Cano and Zurbarán; Pedro Roldán, Duque Cornejo, etc. The Cartuja was more than just a stable monument, a walled city in continuous change.

In 1810, during the Napoleonic invasion, the Carthusians were expelled and the Monastery, invaded by the French, was transformed into barracks for the French troops. The monks fled to Portugal and returned in 1812 when they were definitely secularized in 1836 during the period of the Confiscations of Mendizábal.

Abandoned and battered, the Monastery was acquired in 1939 by the English merchant Charles Pickman, who installed a porcelain china and ceramics factory inside the monastery in 1841. The adaptation of the Cartuja to fit the needs of the factory were at first very respectful of the building’s original purpose. Your tour ends in the gardens of the Marquesa, where many surprises will be waiting for you!