Córdoba
Country: Spain · 323,262 inhabitants
Attractions
Wikivoyage
Córdoba is a mid-sized city of 326,000 inhabitants (2018) and the capital of the province of Córdoba in the centre of Andalucia. A great cultural reference point in Europe, this ancient city has been declared a World Heritage Site and contains a mixture of the diverse cultures that have settled it throughout history. The historic quarter of Córdoba is a beautiful network of small streets, alleys, squares and whitewashed courtyards arranged around the Mezquita, which reflects the city's prominent place in the Islamic world during medieval times.
Wikipedia
Córdoba ( KOR-də-bə; Spanish: [ˈkoɾðoβa] ), or sometimes Cordova ( KOR-də-və), is a city in Andalusia, Spain, and the capital of the province of Córdoba. With a population of 324,902 as of 2024, it is the 12th-largest city in Spain and the 3rd-largest in Andalusia.
The city primarily lies on the right bank of the Guadalquivir in the south of the Iberian Peninsula. Once a Roman colony, it was taken over by the Visigothic Kingdom in the sixth century and then conquered by the Muslims in the eighth century. Córdoba became the capital of the Emirate and then Caliphate of Córdoba, from which the Umayyad dynasty ruled al-Andalus. Under Umayyad rule, Córdoba was transformed into a centre of education and learning, and by the 10th century it had grown to be the second-largest city in Europe. The caliphate experienced a manifold political crisis in the early 11th century that brought about state collapse. Following the Christian conquest in 1236, Córdoba became part of the Crown of Castile as the head of the Kingdom of Córdoba.
Córdoba is home to notable examples of Moorish architecture such as the Mezquita-Catedral, which was named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984 and is now a cathedral. The site has since been expanded to encompass the whole historic centre of Córdoba. Madinat al-Zahra near the city is also a World Heritage Site while the Festival de los Patios has been recognized as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Córdoba has the highest summer temperatures in Spain and Europe, with average high temperatures around 37 °C (99 °F) in July and August. Summers are very dry whereas the mild winters have frequent rainfall.
