Holy Week in Seville, Spain. Holy week 2009. Seville online ES

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Holy Week in Seville, Spain

Semana santa - Holy week (easter) in Seville
- 2010: March 28 - April 04
Feria de Sevilla - April fair of Seville
- 2010: April 20 - 25

Cruz de guía (guiding cross) of the Macarena fraternity. Semana Santa (holy week - easter) has been one of the most important celebrations in Seville for centuries. It may have it's origin as far back as the 14th century.
The Cofradías (Brotherhoods or Fraternities) process in penitence through the (many narrow) streets of Seville, from their church to the Cathedral and back, taking the shortest possible route, as decreed in the rule of the ordinances by Cardenal Niño de Guevara in the 17th century.
Many sevillians wait unpatiently for this yearly event, as they do for the April fair.

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Holy week: day by day

Starting on Domingo de Ramos (Palm Sunday), and ending on Domingo de Resurrección (Easter Sunday), there are 57 brotherhoods that pay the religious visit to the Cathedral of Seville, the third largest Cathedral in the world.

Routes of the floats:
Domingo de ramos
Lunes Santo
Martes Santo
Miércoles Santo
Jueves Santo
Madrugá
Viernes Santo
Sábado Santo
Domingo de Resurrección

Processions and floats

Most brotherhoods carry two floats:

La Lanzá. a float with a Christ, representing the distinct stages of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ

and a float with a Dolorosa (Mary the Virgin in pain) under a canopy.

Some brotherhoods even carry three floats, like the so-called: El Amor, La Cena, San Benito, or la Trinidad, others have just one like Santa Marta, La Quinta Angustia, la Soledad de San Buenaventura, or la Soledad de San Lorenzo.

Resuming, in the eight days of Semana Santa, a total of 57 brotherhoods, carry their 116 floats from their church to the Cathedral and back, in the company of around 60,000 brothers participating in their different appearances:

Nazarenos (Nazarenes)
Penitents
Costaleros (float carriers)
Acolytes

The crowd watching the Virgen of the Baratillo fraternity.

The number of spectators may rise up to the impressing number of one million people during the most important moments of Semana Santa in Seville: the early morning of Good Friday which is when the brotherhoods of el Silencio, el Gran Poder, La Macarena, El Calvario, La Esperanza de Triana and los Gitanos set off for their processional penitence to the Cathedral of Seville.