Firefighters in Cordoba have brought under control a large blaze that erupted on Friday night inside the city’s renowned Mosque-Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and major tourist destination in southern Spain.
The fire broke out at around 21:00 local time (19:00 GMT) in one of the chapels within the Almanzor naves.
Spanish media, including El Mundo, reported that a short circuit in an electric sweeper may have been the cause.
Flames and smoke could be seen rising from the structure in widely circulated videos, raising fears of severe damage.
Three firefighting teams responded swiftly, containing and extinguishing the blaze within a short period.
Crews remained on site overnight to monitor the situation, cool the building’s walls and roofs, and prevent any possible flare-ups. The site reopened to visitors on Saturday morning.
The Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba, visited by more than 2 million people in 2024, is celebrated for its striking architecture, including around 1,200 columns with iconic striped arches—850 of which are original.
Constructed as a mosque between the 8th and 10th centuries, it is regarded as a masterpiece of Islamic design.
Following the Christian reconquest of Spain in the 13th century under King Ferdinand III, it was converted into a cathedral and underwent centuries of modifications.
Friday’s incident stirred memories of the 2019 fire at Paris’s Notre Dame Cathedral, which reopened in late 2024 after extensive restoration.
While the Cordoba blaze was swiftly contained, its occurrence underscores the vulnerability of historic monuments to sudden hazards despite modern safety measures.