Moorish mosque transformed into a Christian cathedral, the Mezquita-Catedral is one of the most unique churches in the world.
The Mezquita-Catedral of Cordoba drew me to Cordoba. It was the one thing in the city I really wanted to see. It was also the first thing I saw in Cordoba. It was very much worth waking up super early to get there when the cathedral opened to visitors on New Year’s Day.
The Mezquita-Catedral of Cordoba (Mosque-Cathedral) is a very unique monument. The Moorish conquers of Spain constructed a mosque when they arrived in 785 CE. Cordoba at that time was the capital of Al-Andalus, Muslim Iberia. Legend goes that there once was a Visigothic church on the site, which was later divided in half to also function as a mosque when the Moors first arrived. This legend is debated, but evidence of several Late Roman/Visigothic religious buildings have been found under the Mezquita-Catedral. The mosque reused a lot of building material from Roman and Visigothic building during its construction.
The mosque started off fairly small, but it was added on to multiple times. The mosque eventually became a giant square with a large courtyard attached to the north side. In 1236, Cordoba became controlled by the Christians again. The mosque was converted into a Catholic church dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Centuries passed before there were any major changes to the structure. A few chapels were added initially. The Gothic Villaviciosa Chapel was built right between the columns of the mosque. In the 15th century they finally removed the Moorish arches and put in a typical church roof. The 16th century brought new chapels bringing Renaissance and later Baroque styles to the former mosque. The magnificent Renaissance Capilla Major (the central chapel) was put right in the middle of the former mosque. There is now a very interesting transition from the Moorish mosque (which is still very much intact) to the European Renaissance chapel with its high ceilings.
The modern appearance of the Mezquita-Catedral is owed to the remodels and restorations that occurred in the 19th century. They uncovered hidden Moorish elements. Restored what they could and even removed all the Baroque altars from the Gothic Villaviviosa Chapel. Restorations throughout Spain during this era were focused on re-Moorishing everything. I approve.
I was the second visitor in the building, so I may have run around and took pictures before people could get into the photos. Therefore, my photos will be in a somewhat random order.
Columns… columns… columns everywhere.
Where the mosque meets the cathedral.
The columns are kind of mesmerizing.
This is the weirdest church I have ever been in, and it’s awesome.
The chapel behind those small doors is the Royal Chapel, which was built in that weird Moorish/Christian hybrid Mudéjar-style.
Looks awesome but they don’t let you in there. Boo!
The Gothic Villaviciosa Chapel.
A late Ancient Roman floor mosaic found under the Mezquita-Catedral.
This door, which was to the right of the mihrab, lead to the Caliph’s palace.
The mihrab, a niche that indicates which direction to pray.
This is an extremely fancy one.
Just gorgeous.
There are chapels all over the place. Around the perimeter of the whole building and then around the Capilla Major.
Where the Moorish mosque meets the Catholic cathedral.
The high altar of the Capilla Major. Very Renaissance, a world away from the Moorish designs.
The very fancy transept.
Can’t have a cathedral without an elaborate choir.
That’s quite a ceiling.
One of the exterior wall chapels, Capilla Teresa, which now serves as a kind of display room for the cathedral treasury.
Gotta have a room to display the silver, I guess.
The Capilla de la Concepción.
Rows and rows of columns.
They kind of just stuck chapels wherever they could.
They replaced some of the original ceilings with some Gothic designs. It’s a bit haphazard though.
I wasn’t kidding when I said that they just stuck chapels wherever they could. Behind these chapels is the Capilla Major.
Last but not least, now in the Villaviciosa Chapel, this was originally the entrance of the mosque’s 10th century extension.
The Mezquita-Cordoba is really something special. It is a unique cultural treasure that shows the changes that have happened in Spain over the centuries. It’s amazing that the mosque portion still stands, and it wasn’t demolished like many other mosques. If you were going to pick one thing to visit in Cordoba, this would be it.
Check out my next update where I will be exploring an impressive castle and two royal palaces.
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Start at the beginning of my travels around Spain!
