La Lonja de La Seda

History

La Lonja de la Seda is built between 1482 and 1533. This building was used for trading in silk during the Golden century of Valencia. But it had more functions. They used this building for Commodity Exchange, a bank, and a meeting place for merchants. The building was considered a symbol of power and wealth. Because of the status of the building it attracted a lot of rich traders from all over

the world. During the Middle ages, fashion and Textiles were an important industry in Valencia.

Architecture

The Idea to build La Lonja de La Seda came from the General Council of Valencia. They wanted to have a building where commercial transactions were made. The architect of the building was Pere Compte. He was a Catalan architect living in Valencia. He is as well the architect of the Cathedral of Valencia. He was inspired by the Lonja of Palma de Mallorca. The style that this building is built in is late Gothic architecture.

You can devide the building in 3 parts. Sala de contración (Contract hall), Torreón (Great tower), Consulado del mar (Consulate of the sea)

Sala de contración

This room was used to trade and commercial transactions of all kinds. In the year 1407, the municipal council of Valencia founded a bank inside this área.

The nickname of Sala de contración is Room of columns. You will understand this directly when you enter the room. Inside this room, you will be amazed by its tall columns and arches. In total, you will find here 24 giant pillars with rotation in them. The room

has a height of 17.4 meters and a surface of 781 m2. The floor is fully decorated with White black and Taupe-colored marble tiles.

Torreón

We refer here to the tower that is connected with sala de contración. This tower has an impressive spiral staircase. The staircase has a total of 110 steps. The first and the second floor were used for centuries to lock prisoners.

Consulado del Mar

This part was built in the early 16th in a Renaissance style. This area was used as a meeting center. The nickname of this area was the Golden room. This was because the ceiling was coffered with decorative Wood with pieces of gold inside. In Consulado del mar

the Trade Court met as well to solve issues related to the trades.