Works of the Cruise

Back in the year 1521, Bishop Alonso Manrique informed the chapter of his intention to create a new space to replace the one that at the time served as the Main Chapel. Two years later, the construction of the transept began, led by Hernán Ruiz I the Elder, Master Builder of the Cathedral, who designed the new building and worked on it until his death in 1547.

The new church was erected in the heart of the former Mosque, occupying part of the areas corresponding to the expansions of Abd al-Rahman II and Almanzor. It had a rectangular layout, with three naves and a large transept, standing out for its remarkable verticality in contrast to the horizontality of the Muslim construction. The result was a unique building in the world, not only due to the immense quality of the caliphal architecture but also due to the skillful way of fitting a Cathedral inside the Mosque. Although many architects continued and altered Hernán Ruiz I’s initial project, the original imprint has been preserved over the years.

Far from destroying the caliphal naves, the master chose to reuse them, incorporating them as side naves in sets of three arches where the different sections were covered with Gothic ribbed vaults. Between the main and side naves, three large pointed arches were built to bear the thrusts of the choir, which today are interrupted by the stonework, organs, and side chapels.

The development of the works in the 16th century

The initial drive and early progress

The same year that the transept construction began, Bishop Manrique was transferred to Seville, and Fray Juan Álvarez de Toledo (1523–1537) took his place. During his tenure, the works progressed at a good pace, reaching the cornice-gallery that surrounds the walls of the transept, and even closing off the side naves that surround the head and foot of the new major church.

The period of Don Leopoldo of Austria

Fray Juan Álvarez de Toledo was succeeded by Don Leopoldo of Austria, who led the diocese from 1541 until his death in 1557. Don Leopoldo was the uncle of Emperor Charles I, a man of notable culture and a patron of many works in our city. During his administration, the pace of the transept construction did not slow down, as in just over 15 years, the closing walls of the head and arms were raised. He also appointed Hernán Ruiz II the Younger as master builder of the works, replacing his father, who had died in 1547.

Hernán Ruiz II and the transition to the Renaissance

Under Hernán Ruiz II, the transept construction took on a different character. With a marked humanist education (he studied under the master Diego de Siloe), this young architect largely respected his father’s designs, as can be seen in the Gothic ribbed vaults of the transept arms. However, in building the walls, he used clearly Renaissance schemes inspired by the architecture of the Italian Sebastiano Serlio.

The halt and completion of the works

Curiously, after the death of Hernán Ruiz II in 1569, the Cathedral works came to a halt for nearly 30 years. That is, we must go back to 1597, when Bishop Don Francisco Reinoso y Baeza arrived in Córdoba, to see renewed activity on the site. Seeing its state, the Bishop decided to call on his friend Diego de Praves, then master builder of the Cathedral of Valladolid, to design the great vault that today covers the choral nave. Praves also designed the elliptical vault covering the transept and the great arch of the ante-choir, with a pronounced Renaissance character, featuring a large Serlian opening.

The works carried out by the architect from Valladolid were closely supervised by Juan de Ochoa, the city’s master builder, who is considered the clearest exponent of Mannerism in our city. The decoration was entrusted to the carver Francisco Gutiérrez Garrido, and was completed in 1602, thus finalizing a vast iconographic program that we will try to simplify as much as possible in the following section.

On September 7th, 1607, the construction of the new Main Chapel and Choir was declared complete, with the execution, by Juan de Ochoa—although he had recently died—of the rear choir facade. Around that time, the new Bishop of Córdoba, Fray Diego de Mardones, had just arrived.

Visits and authorship

If you wish to discover the Transept works of the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba, do not hesitate to book one of our guided tours. We are experts in the interpretation of Córdoba’s historical heritage. If you have chosen to do tourism in Córdoba, choose a quality option, choose ArtenCórdoba.

Text: J.A.S.C.