Torre de la Calahorra

Tower in Córdoba

Torre De La Callahora, Cordoba — CC BY-SA 2.0 / Richard Mortel

The Torre de la Calahorra or Calahorra tower is a fortified gate in Córdoba, Andalusia in Spain. The edifice is of Islamic origin.

The defensive system of the building is significant: strong walls, deep moat, as well as the numerous and narrow loopholes, where cannons and other artillery pieces were located, or its pyramidal battlement at the top, showing the enemy its role as an inviolable fortress.

Museo Vivo de Al-Andaluz

The Torre de la Calahorra currently houses the Museo Vivo de Al-Andaluz . This fascinating museum is particularly educational with audio visual presentations which vividly depict how life was in Cordoba around the 10th Century AD when three cultures lived side by side Christianity, Muslim and Judaism. Visitors are immersed into the culture of al-Andalus: its characters, its daily life, its wisdom, its science, its architecture and its music. An audio guide system is included in the price of entry. It also presents the early height of science, culture, and engineering that gave Andalusia a leading position centuries ago.

There is a scale model of the Mosque as it was in Moorish times before the cathedral was constructed with a number of documents and pictures round off this journey through Cordoba’s history.

Visiting the Torre de la Calahorra

Don’t miss out on going on the roof for a spectacular view of the mosque and the city.

History of the Calahorra Tower

It was first erected by the Almohad Caliphate to protect the nearby Roman Bridge on the Guadalquivir. The tower, standing on the left bank of the river, originally consisted of an arched gate between two towers.

The most likely hypothesis is that the tower was built in Islamic times, and later reused and transformed in Christian times.

It was extensively restored by King Enrique II of Castile in 1369 to defend the city from attack by his brother Pedro I the Cruel from the South. He added a third cylindrical shaped tower connecting the outer two.

In the 18th century it was used as a prison and in the 19th century it was a girls school.

The tower was declared a national historical monument in 1931. The restoration of the tower, along with the Roman Bridge, Gate of the Bridge and surrounding area, was awarded the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Award in 2014.

The Torre de la Calahorra appears in our Complete Guide to Visiting Córdoba!

This website uses affiliate links which may earn a commission at no additional cost to you!