mezquita cordoba

Mezquita Mosque and Cathedral

The Mezquita of Cordoba is one of the world’s most impressive buildings making it one of the most remarkable tourist attractions both in Cordoba and Spain.

Each year approximately 1.5 million tourists marvel at this impressive landmark featuring several architectural styles and uniting religious elements of Islam and occidental culture.

The so called holy cathedral (former mosque of Cordoba) is not only the largest mosque in the entire world, but the largest temple in the world, as well. The building has mammoth dimensions: It stretches across 24,000 square meters and features as many as 856 esthetic columns made of marble, granite, jasper, and other fine materials.

Visiting the Mezquita gives you a glimpse of how it was at ancient times. The Mezquita looks back on more than one thousand years of history. The first beginnings date back to the 8th century, when Abd al-Rahman I planned to construct a mosque instead of Christian Saint Vincent Basilica. The year 785 marks the beginning of Mezquita’s construction that lasted for about 200 years. The first major enlargement of the mosque took place between 833 and 852 under the rule of Abd al-Rahman II. Abd al-Rahman III ordered subsequent reforms, including a new minaret, which was realized between 961 and 966. The third and last of the mosque’s expansions was ruled by Al-Mansur in 987. It was the most significant enlargement that lead, with completion of the orange tree courtyard and the outer naves, to Mezquita’s current dimensions.

After Cordoba was recaptured by King Ferdinand III in 1236 and rejoined Christendom, the mosque became used as church.

Within the Mezquita, in the very center, is a Renaissance cathedral, which Bishop Alonso Manrique began build in 1523. The cathedral’s construction lasted until the beginning of the 17th century. Although parts of the column hall had been destroyed as the cathedral was constructed, the building is still a remarkable and dazzling symbol of fine Moorish architecture.

Mezquita is most notable for its red-and-white colored giant arches resting on 856 columns. These were made of a Roman temple and other buildings that had occupied the Mezquita site previously.

Due to its outstanding historical development, including influences of different cultures, Mezquita unites architectural treasures of several epochs, including Greek-Roman, Egyptian, and Visigothic styles. A Byzantine mosaic with praising inscriptions can be found in the southern part of the Mezquita.

The holy cathedral inside the mosque features all styles of the 16th and 17th centuries: Spanish-Flemish vaults, Renaissance domes, and baroque altar vaults. The treasure chamber houses remarkable religious pieces from the 15th and 16th centuries. A monstrance, manufactured by German goldsmith Heinrich von Arfe 1510 until 1516, is probably the most magnificent work of the chamber.