Today, the building continues to serve as the city's cathedral and Mass is celebrated there daily. The former minaret, which had been converted to a bell tower, was also significantly remodelled around this time. The structure itself underwent only minor modifications until a major building project in the 16th century inserted a new Renaissance cathedral nave and transept into the center of the building. The mosque was converted to a cathedral in 1236 when Córdoba was captured by the Christian forces of Castile during the Reconquista. Among the most notable additions, Abd al-Rahman III added a minaret (finished in 958) and his son al-Hakam II added a richly decorated new mihrab and maqsurah section (finished in 971).
Doors of the Christian period
The minaret's original appearance, however, was reconstructed by modern Spanish scholar Félix Hernández Giménez with the help archeological evidence as well as historical texts and representations. The courtyard is known today as the Patio de los Naranjos or "Courtyard of the Orange Trees". The Arabic inscriptions in the decoration around the mihrab are the first major example of a program of political-religious inscriptions inserted into Andalusi architecture.
A design by Hernán Ruiz III (son of Hernán Ruiz II) was chosen, encasing the original minaret structure into a new Renaissance-style bell tower. The most significant alteration of all, however, was the building of a Renaissance cathedral nave and transept – forming a new Capilla Mayor es – in the middle of the expansive mosque structure, starting in 1523. In the late 15th century a more significant modification was carried out to the Villaviciosa Chapel, where a new nave in Gothic style was created by clearing some of the mosque arches on the east side of the chapel and adding Gothic arches and vaulting. The first precisely dated chapel known to be built along the west wall is the Chapel of San Felipe and Santiago, in 1258.
Choir stalls
- The first precisely dated chapel known to be built along the west wall is the Chapel of San Felipe and Santiago, in 1258.
- On the dome itself, are the images of the eight Fathers of the Church along the outer edge and an image of the Holy Trinity at its center, which together are part of a Counter-Reformist iconographic program.
- Due to its status as a former mosque, it is also known as the Mezquita (Spanish for ‘mosque’) and in a historical sense as the Great Mosque of Córdoba.
- The mosque’s architectural system of repeating two-tiered arches, with otherwise little surface decoration, is considered one of its most innovative characteristics and has been the subject of much commentary.
- The minaret has since disappeared after it was partly demolished and encased in the Renaissance bell tower that is visible today.
- The courtyard is known today as the Patio de los Naranjos or “Courtyard of the Orange Trees”.
The cathedral's first altar was installed in 1236 under the large ribbed dome at the edge of Al-Hakam II's 10th-century extension of the mosque, becoming part of what is today called the Villaviciosa Chapel (Capilla de Villaviciosa) and the cathedral's first main chapel (the Antigua Capilla Mayor). The mosque's original mihrab (niche in the far wall symbolizing the direction of prayer) no longer exists today but its probable remains were found during archeological excavations between 1932 and 1936. This wall-less cathedral looks as though it was just plopped into the middle of the mosque – a truly strange sight to behold.
An archaeological exhibit in the mosque–cathedral of Cordoba today displays fragments of a Late Roman or Visigothic building, emphasizing an originally Christian nature of the complex. This attractive building in Cordoba was built by order of Philip… As a result, the interior resembles a labyrinth of beautiful columns with double arcades and horseshoe arches. It was built in 785 by the Muslim emir Abdurrahman I, on the site of the ancient Visigoth church of San Vicente.
Construction of a new cathedral bell tower to encase the old minaret began in 1593 and, after some delays, was finished in 1617. Nuha N. N. Khoury, a scholar of Islamic architecture, has interpreted this collection of inscriptions in al-Hakam II's expansion of the building as an attempt to present the mosque as a "universal Islamic shrine", similar to the mosques of Mecca and Medina, and to portray Caliph al-Hakam II as the instrument through which God built this shrine. In the nave or aisle of the hypostyle hall which leads to the mihrab, at the spot which marks the beginning of Al-Hakam's 10th-century extension, is a monumental ribbed dome with ornate decoration. The mosque's architectural system of repeating two-tiered arches, with otherwise little surface decoration, is considered one of its most innovative characteristics and has been the subject of much commentary. The hall was large and flat, with timber ceilings held up by rows of two-tiered arches resting on columns. The building's original floor plan follows the overall form of some of the earliest mosques built from the very beginning of Islam.
The Capilla Mayor and cruciform cathedral core
The Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba (World Heritage Site since 1984) is arguably the most significant monument in the whole of the western Moslem World and one of the most amazing buildings in the world in its own right. Nowadays, some of the constructive elements of the Visigoth building are integrated in the first part of Abderraman I. In this same place, and during the Visigoth occupation, another building was constructed, the “San Vicente” Basilic. Some 850 pillars divide this interior into 19 north-to-south and 29 east-to-west aisles, with each row of pillars supporting a tier of open horseshoe arches upon which a third and similar tier is superimposed. Passing through the courtyard, one enters on the south a deep sanctuary whose roof is supported by a forest of pillars made of porphyry, jasper, and many-coloured marbles. The ground plan of the completed building forms a vast rectangle measuring 590 by 425 feet (180 by 130 metres), or little less than St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
Muslim campaigns
The arches that marked the transition from the courtyard to the interior of the prayer hall were originally open and allowed natural light to penetrate the interior, but most of these arches were walled up during the Christian period (after 1236) as chapels were built along the northern edge of the hall. The Puerta de las Palmas (Door of the Palms) is the grand ceremonial https://www.velwinscasino.gr/ gate from the Courtyard of the Oranges to the cathedral's interior, built on what was originally a uniform façade of open arches leading to the former mosque's prayer hall. The most substantial and visible additions are the cruciform nave and transept of the Capilla Mayor (the main chapel where Mass is held today) which were begun in the 16th century and inserted into the middle of the former mosque's prayer hall, as well as the remodelling of the former minaret into a Renaissance-style bell tower. Abdurrahman III had a new minaret built whilst in 961 Al-Hakam II extended the ground plan and decorated the “mihrab” (prayer niche). The bell tower was built in the 17th century over what was the mosque’s minaret. Known as the Patio de los Naranjos, this open courtyard is attached to the mosque and surrounded by walls and the bell tower.
He reinforced the tower and modified the initial design of the Puerta del Perdón ("Door of Forgiveness") which passed through the tower's base. In 1589 a strong storm (or earthquake) caused damage to the former minaret, which was being used as a bell tower, and it was decided to remodel and reinforce the tower. The final element was the construction of the elliptical central dome of the transept, built between 1599 and 1607. He was responsible for building the transept walls to their full height as well as the buttresses upholding the structure. He also worked on the mosque building's eastern section (the extension added by Al-Mansur) by adding gothic vaulting to the mosque naves in this area. Before his death in 1547 he built the choir walls up to the windows and the gothic vaults on the south side.
Being surrounded by Muslim architecture and peering into a church, all within the same building, is quite a peculiar experience. After the Christians reconquered Spain, the mosque was deemed too beautiful to destroy. Those were recycled by the Moors as they began work on the mosque.
- The Puerta del Perdón (Door of Forgiveness) is one of the most ritually important doors of the cathedral, located at the base of the bell tower and directly opposite the Puerta de las Palmas.
- The Mezquita’s main chapel (Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption) is found right in the center of the complex.
- Over time, Abd al-Rahman’s successors extended the mosque and enriched it with elements of Andalusian art.
- Patricio Furriel was responsible for restoring the mihrab’s Islamic mosaics, including the portions which had been lost.
- Known as the Patio de los Naranjos, this open courtyard is attached to the mosque and surrounded by walls and the bell tower.
- The first minaret in all of Al-Andalus, it was built in the courtyard of the mosque.
- The new tower had imperfections, however, and required repairs only a few decades later in the mid-17th century.
The Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba is a profound architectural expression of the layered histories of al-Andalus. This building is a temple and a monument. Discover one of the most beautiful and unique buildings in the world.
Palau de la Música Catalana and Hospital de Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain
Starting in the 19th century, modern restorations have in turn led to the recovery and study of some of the building's Islamic-era elements. Due to its status as a former mosque, it is also known as the Mezquita (Spanish for 'mosque') and in a historical sense as the Great Mosque of Córdoba.
Today, Cordoba’s mosque-cathedral is a beautiful masterpiece that stands testament to 1500 years of Spanish history. The conquering christian forces were impressed with Cordoba and especially the mosque. The Mihrab is a prayer niche found in mosques and the one found inside the Great Mosque of Cordoba could be the most beautiful in the world. Seeing these endless columns, a visiting Muslim poet once described the mosque as having “countless pillars like rows of palm trees in the oases of Syria.” It was converted into a church and eventually, an enormous cathedral was built right in the middle!
The space under this dome was surrounded on three sides by elaborate screens of interlacing polylobed arches, similar to those of the maqsura to the south but even more intricate. The ribs of this dome have a different configuration than those of the domes in front of the mihrab. The tensions that grow from these subverted expectations create an intellectual dialogue between building and viewer that will characterize the evolving design of the Great Mosque of Cordoba for over two hundred years. It served as a central prayer hall for personal devotion, for the five daily Muslim prayers and the special Friday prayers accompanied by a sermon. The Christian-era additions (after 1236) included many small chapels throughout the building and various relatively cosmetic changes.