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A night-time fire broke out at the Córdoba Cathedral in southern Spain on 8 August. The incident prompted a rapid response that prevented major structural loss and allowed the monument to reopen the next day.
Initial reports indicate the blaze began around 9 p.m. local time inside a chapel area in the Almanzor extension, where equipment was stored. Early indications point to an electrical short circuit linked to a cleaning machine as the likely origin, pending a final investigation by authorities.
Damage was concentrated and limited in size. Local assessments put the affected area at about twenty-five square metres within a complex that covers roughly twenty-three thousand square metres. A ceiling collapse was reported in one chapel, while neighbouring areas suffered smoke and heat impact.
The site reopened to visitors on 9 August, with cordons placed around the damaged chapels while technical teams evaluated restoration needs.
Córdoba Cathedral — more commonly known as the Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba (Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba) — is one of the most famous cathedrals in Spain and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Tradition and some historical evidence suggest that the site was initially home to a Roman pagan temple before becoming a Christian church. In 785, under Abd al-Rahman I, the first Emir of Córdoba, the site was converted into a mosque. Muslim rulers expanded it several times, making it one of the largest mosques of the time.
In 1236, after the Castilian King Ferdinand III reclaimed Córdoba from the Almohad Caliphate, the mosque was converted into a church and raised to the dignity of a cathedral.
The site has largely remained a centre of exclusively Christian worship, with notable and permitted exceptions for Saddam Hussein and later a Saudi prince. However, in 2010, a small group of Muslim visitors knelt to begin their prayers. Cathedral authorities intervened, and the incident ended with two guards injured and two members of the prayer group arrested.
In recent years, there has been continuous pressure on Spain’s Catholic hierarchy to end what is seen by some as a determined effort to preserve Spain’s Catholic identity and to allow other religions to hold prayer services in the cathedral.
