by artencordobaThe restoration of the Mosque of Córdoba has just entered its most delicate stage. On 15 September 2026 the Cathedral Chapter announced that work on the Chapel of the Expectation — the area worst hit by the August 2025 fire — is no longer about clearing rubble, but about rebuilding its lost decoration piece by piece. Here is what is actually happening, which areas are involved and how little it changes your visit.
What the Cathedral Chapter announced this week
According to the Cabildo Catedral of Córdoba itself, later picked up by outlets such as Andalucía Información, El Debate and the diocesan magazine Iglesia en Córdoba, work on the Chapel of the Expectation has moved past the initial stages and is now facing the most complex part of the whole process.
From clearing soot to rebuilding
The first months were essentially emergency and diagnosis: removing soot, clearing debris and structurally consolidating whatever was still standing. It was the most urgent phase, and also the least spectacular. With that foundation secured, the team of restorers in charge has moved on to the task that will genuinely give the space its original face back: remaking the mouldings, the ornamental pieces and the architectural elements that defined the chapel before the fire.
A jigsaw puzzle built to the millimetre
The method described by the Chapter has more in common with archaeology than with masonry. First comes the study of all available graphic documentation — plans and, above all, photographs taken before the fire — to establish exactly what each moulding looked like. Then advanced digital recreations and models of every piece are designed. In parallel, the original fragments rescued from the rubble are catalogued and reassembled “with millimetric precision” in their exact position: everything salvageable goes back where it belongs, and only what was lost outright is recreated.
One year after the fire of 8 August 2025
It is worth recalling the starting point, because the images from that night were far more alarming than the actual damage. The fire broke out at around 9:15 pm on 8 August 2025 in a chapel on the eastern side that the Chapter used to store cleaning machinery and chairs. The leading hypothesis in the investigation points to an electrical fault in a sweeper kept there.
Firefighters had it under control by around midnight. The outcome: a very localised affected area — a few dozen square metres — the roof of the Chapel of the Expectation collapsed, and smoke and heat damage in neighbouring spaces such as the Chapel of the Holy Spirit and the vestibule of the Saint Nicholas Door. By the following morning, 9 August 2025, the monument was already open to the public again with the damaged area cordoned off.
The affected zone belongs to the naves of Almanzor, the building’s last great extension, carried out eastwards in the late 10th century. It is the plainest part of the interior, without the decorative wealth of Al-Hakam II’s extension, and it forms part of that stage-by-stage architectural evolution that explains how the Mosque reached its present size.
How the Mosque of Córdoba restoration is really progressing
The Mosque of Córdoba restoration has not been fast, and the Chapter has repeatedly said that the slowness is deliberate: the stated priority is “quality” and scientific rigour ahead of deadlines. By the summer of 2026, with the intervention at around 80% completion, major milestones had been reached, such as the recovery of the damaged vault and the restoration of the altarpiece of Saint Nicholas of Bari, which needed some six months in the workshop. The Chapter’s investment in the works as a whole is already close to half a million euros.
The vestibule of the Saint Nicholas Door is, alongside the Chapel of the Expectation, the other main focus of the work. It is no minor corner: it belongs to the system of historic entrances along the eastern wall, one of the most interesting ensembles in the building if you look closely at the symbolism and decoration of the doors of the Mosque-Cathedral.
Does it affect your visit? What you will and will not see
The short answer is: barely. The monument is running normally and the bulk of the route is untouched — the courtyard, the forest of columns, the mihrab, the maqsura and the Renaissance cathedral can all be visited as always. The only cordoned-off section is the eastern side aisle where the work is concentrated, a perimeter stretch that many visitors did not even walk before the fire.
As for opening hours and tickets, nothing has changed because of the works: general admission remains 15 euros, with reduced rates of 12, 8 and 6 euros depending on the case, and the free early-morning slot from Monday to Saturday is still in place (individual, silent visits only). For up-to-date details, see our guide to opening hours and ticket prices for the Mosque of Córdoba.
In other words: walking among the two-tone arches is still exactly the experience we described in our article on the forest of columns and the magic of its interior.
The other consequence of the fire: more prevention
The fire left a lesson that the Chapter has turned into internal policy. On 17 September 2026 the monument received a technical visit from the IESPA and the Fire Service to reinforce its prevention protocols, and announced that it will share its emergency-management experience at the Ministry of Culture’s first Best Practices Conference.
For a building with 10th-century timber roofs, that invisible prevention work matters as much as the restoration you can actually see.
Frequently asked questions about the Mosque of Córdoba restoration
Can you visit the Mosque of Córdoba during the works?
Yes. The monument reopened the day after the fire and has been operating normally ever since. Only the eastern side aisle where the work is under way remains closed off. The entire main route — courtyard, prayer hall, mihrab and cathedral — is open to the public.
Which part of the Mosque burned in 2025?
The fire started in a chapel used as a storeroom on the eastern side, inside the naves of Almanzor. The worst damage was to the Chapel of the Expectation, whose roof collapsed. Nearby chapels suffered smoke and heat damage, but the affected surface was small.
When will the restoration be finished?
The Chapter has not published a completion date. In the summer of 2026 the works were around 80% complete, but the current phase of ornamental reconstruction is the slowest and most painstaking. The institution insists on putting scientific rigour before deadlines.
How much is the work costing?
The Cathedral Chapter has invested close to half a million euros in rehabilitating and recovering the affected area, funded from the monument’s own resources. The final figure will depend on the eventual scope of the decorative reconstruction.
Did ticket prices change because of the works?
No. General admission still costs 15 euros, with the same reduced rates and free entries as before, and free access from Monday to Saturday first thing in the morning for individual visitors remains available.
Seeing the Mosque-Cathedral while one of its chapters is being rewritten is something of a privilege: a twelve-century-old building rarely lets you watch it take care of itself so closely. If you want to understand what you are looking at — and why the naves of Almanzor are different from the rest — our guided tour of the Mosque of Córdoba with historian guides makes it easy in an hour and a half.
