Coordinates | 12°58′0″N77°34′0″N |
---|---|
building name | Cathedral of Córdoba |
location | Córdoba, Andalusia, Spain |
geo | |
religious affiliation | Roman Catholic |
district | Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Córdoba |
heritage designation | UNESCO World Heritage Site |
architecture | yes |
architecture type | Mosque |
architecture style | Moorish, Renaissance |
groundbreaking | 784 |
year completed | 987 |
specifications | yes |
height max | }} |
The Cathedral and former Great Mosque of Córdoba, in ecclesiastical terms the Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción (), and known by the inhabitants of Córdoba as the Mezquita-Catedral (), is today a World Heritage Site and the cathedral of the Diocese of Córdoba. The site was originally a pagan temple, then a Visigothic Christian church, before the Umayyad Moors at first converted the building into a mosque and then built a new mosque on the site.
It is located in the Andalusian city of Córdoba, Spain. The Mezquita is regarded as perhaps the most accomplished monument of the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba. After the Spanish Reconquista, it once again became a Roman Catholic church, with a plateresque cathedral later inserted into the centre of the large Moorish building.
Since the early 2000s, Spanish Muslims have lobbied the Roman Catholic church to allow them to pray in the cathedral. The Muslim campaign has been rejected on multiple occasions, by both Spanish Catholic authorities, and the Vatican. In 2010 there was a violent incident over the matter.
After the Islamic conquest of the Visigothic kingdom, the church was divided between the Muslims and Christians. When the exiled Umayyad prince Abd ar-Rahman I escaped to Spain and defeated the Andalusian governor Yusuf al-Fihri, he allowed the Christians to rebuild their ruined churches, and purchased the Christian half of the church of St. Vincent. Abd ar-Rahman I and his descendants reworked it over two centuries to refashion it as a mosque, starting in 784. Additionally, Abd ar-Rahman I used the mosque (originally called Aljama Mosque) as an adjunct to his palace and named it to honor his wife. Traditionally, the mihrab of a mosque faces in the direction of Mecca; by facing the mihrab, worshipers pray towards Mecca. Mecca is east-southeast of the mosque, but the mihrab points south.
The mosque underwent numerous subsequent changes: Abd ar-Rahman III ordered a new minaret, while Al-Hakam II, in 961, enlarged the building and enriched the mihrab. The last of the reforms was carried out by Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir in 987. It was connected to the Caliph's palace by a raised walk-way, mosques within the palaces being the tradition for the Islamic rulers of all times. The Mezquita reached its current dimensions in 987 with the completion of the outer naves and courtyard.
The main hall of the mosque was used for a variety of purposes. It served as a central hall for teaching and to manage law and order within al-Andalus during the rule of Abd ar-Rahman.
The Great Mosque of Córdoba exhibited features, and an architectural appearance, similar to the Great Mosque of Damascus, therefore it is evident that it was used as a model by Abd ar-Rahman for the creation of the Great Mosque in Córdoba.
They resemble those of the Aachen Cathedral, which were built almost at the same time. The mosque also features richly gilded prayer niches. A centrally located honey-combed dome has blue tiles decorated with stars. The mihrab is a masterpiece of architectural art, with geometric and flowing designs of plants. Other prominent features were: an open court (sahn) surrounded by arcades, screens of wood, minarets, colourful mosaics, and windows of coloured glass. The walls of the mosque had Quranic inscriptions written on them.
One hundred fifty years following its creation, a staircase to the roof was added, along with a southward extension of the mosque itself. A bridge was built linking the prayer hall with the Caliph’s palace. The mosque was later expanded even further south, as was the courtyard which surrounded it. The mosque was built in four stages, with each Caliph and his elite contributing to it.
Until the eleventh century, the courtyard was unpaved earth with citrus and palm trees irrigated - at first by rainwater cisterns, and later by aqueduct. Excavation indicates the trees were planted in a pattern, with surface irrigation channels. The stone channels visible today are not original.
The most significant alteration was the building of a Renaissance cathedral nave right in the middle of the expansive structure. The insertion was constructed by permission of Charles V, king of Castile and Aragon.
The Great Mosque's conversion to a Christian church, the Catedral de Córdoba, may have helped to preserve it when the Spanish Inquisition was most active. Artisans and architects continued to add to the existing structure until the late 18th century.
According to cathedral authorities, when half a dozen Austrian Muslims, who were part of a group of 118 people on an organised tour for young European Muslims, knelt to pray at the same time, security guards stepped in and “invited them to continue with their tour or leave the building”. When two men refused to comply, a scuffle broke out and police were called. Two security guards were seriously injured, and the two Muslim men were detained. Spanish media, citing police sources, said that one of the men arrested had been carrying a knife.
Category:Al-Andalus Category:Buildings and structures in Córdoba, Spain Category:Cathedrals in Spain Category:7th-century church buildings Category:Conversion of non-Christian places of worship into churches Category:Former mosques Category:Moorish architecture Category:Umayyad architecture Category:Mosques in Spain Category:Arcades (architecture)
ace:Meuseujid Raya Cordoba ar:جامع قرطبة bar:Mezquita bs:Velika džamija u Cordobi bg:Мескита де Кордоба ca:Mesquita de Còrdova cs:Mezquita de:Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba es:Mezquita-catedral de Córdoba eo:Mezquita eu:Kordobako meskita fa:مسجد قرطبه fr:Grande mosquée de Cordoue hr:Velika džamija u Córdobi id:Masjid Kordoba it:Grande Moschea di Cordova jv:Masjid Cordoba hu:Córdobai Nagymecset (Spanyolország) ms:Katedral-Masjid Córdoba nl:Mezquita ja:メスキータ pnb:مسجد قرطبہ pl:Mezquita pt:Mesquita-Catedral de Córdova ru:Мескита simple:Mezquita de Córdoba sh:Velika džamija u Cordobi fi:La Mezquita sv:Mezquita th:มหาวิหารแห่งกอร์โดบาร์ tr:Kurtuba Camii uk:Мечеть в Кордобі ur:جامع مسجد قرطبہThis text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
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