The Torre de Belén (literally: Bethlehem Tower) is located in the San Basilio neighbourhood of Córdoba, Spain. It forms part of the

Historic centre of Córdoba The historic centre of Córdoba, Spain is one of the largest of its kind in Europe. In 1984, UNESCO registered the Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba as a World Heritage Site. A decade later, it expanded the inscription to include much of the old to ...

, a

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

. The tower is a fine example of a former defensive gate providing access to a walled enclosure.

Description

The tower is square-shaped, the sides measuring . Built of limestone

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

blocks, arranged in alternating layers of headers and stretchers, it is accessed through two doors at right angles to each other. The outer door to the north has a pointed Islamic

horseshoe arch The horseshoe arch (; ), also called the Moorish arch and the keyhole arch, is a type of arch in which the circular curve is continued below the horizontal line of its diameter, so that the opening at the bottom of the arch is narrower than the ar ...

while the inner door to the east leads into the ground floor which was once converted into a chapel. As a result, the building was also known as Torre de las Imágines (Tower of the Pictures) or Torre de San Benito (Saint Benedict's Tower). There are two upper floors in the tower, each with hemispherical vaulting. From the first floor, the city walls can be accessed through rounded arches to the north and south. The three rounded arches in the eastern wall once housed the chapel bells. There is disagreement as to whether the tower is of 12th-century

Almohad The Almohad Caliphate (; or or from ) or Almohad Empire was a North African Berber Muslim empire founded in the 12th century. At its height, it controlled much of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) and North Africa (the Maghreb). The Almohad ...

origin or was built later during the Christian period. It does however appear to have been consolidated as part of the defences following the Christian conquest of Córdoba in 1236. The tower underwent restoration work in 2000 which also included the chapel and the

altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...

Gallery

File:Torre de Belén.JPG, Eastern wall from San Basilio File:Torre de Belén - Córdoba (España) 04.JPG, View from the northwest File:Torre de Belén - Córdoba (España) 03.JPG, Access to the city walls

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Torre de Belen Towers completed in the 13th century Historic centre of Córdoba, Spain Walls towers in Spain Islamic architecture in Europe Buildings and structures in Córdoba, Spain Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the Province of Córdoba (Spain) Military history of Córdoba, Spain