Why go
The former mosque's conversion into a cathedral is only one part of this transition. The Fernandine churches, Córdoba's synagogue and the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos show how buildings from later centuries joined, reused and reshaped the inherited city around the historic centre.
The full story
Ferdinand III of Castile took Córdoba in 1236 after a siege. The city was reorganized into parish districts, and new churches appeared. The churches associated with Ferdinand, often called Fernandine churches, marked the new order across the older urban fabric. Later medieval rulers added further landmarks. Alfonso X established the convent of Santa Clara. During the reign of Alfonso XI, Córdoba's synagogue was built, and work began on the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos. These buildings complicate any simple division between an Islamic city and a Christian one: they belong to successive stages of Córdoba's medieval life. The city later lost much of its former political and economic weight, before growth resumed in the twentieth century. That long change helps explain the contrast between the dense historic centre and Córdoba's newer districts. In the old core, the most useful clue is often the proximity of buildings from different periods. A church, synagogue or royal residence can reveal what changed after 1236 while the inherited street pattern kept earlier history close at hand.