Patio de las Doncellas, Seville Alcázar

First constructed in the mid 1300s as a royal place, the Seville Alcázar has been the home of Spanish royalty for almost seven centuries. The Patio de las Doncellas, or The Courtyard of the Maidens, derives its name from the myth that the Muslim ruler Peter I of Castile demanded a tribute of 100 maidens every year. This myth provided extra fuel for Christian outrage and the Reconquista.