Can I buy tickets online for the Prado Museum?

Yes, you can buy your tickets on our website. To do this you should select a date and time of the visit and the audioguide language.

What documentation do I need for access to Prado Museum?

To access the Prado Museum, you must present the corresponding ticket, either in digital or printed format.

Is there a cloakroom service at the Prado Museum?

Yes, the Prado Museum offers a free cloakroom service where visitors can leave coats and personal items that cannot be taken into the exhibition rooms. This service is available at all museum entrances.

If I book a Prado Museum Guided Tour, is the ticket included?

Yes, reservations that include a guided tour generally cover both the guide service and the museum entrance.

The Most Incredible Legends of the Mosque of Córdoba

The Mosque of Córdoba has always been surrounded by numerous legends, sayings, and popular traditions, fueled by the aura of mystery and exoticism that the monument exudes.

The centuries of history and the great personalities that have passed through the Mosque have contributed to enriching this popular knowledge, which is part of the very history of Córdoba and its Mosque. If you want to know which are the most popular, keep reading the collection we have prepared for you.

1. The Legend of the Angel about the Construction of the Mosque

One of the most widespread legends about the construction of the Mosque of Córdoba is the Legend of the Angel. According to the story, the Mosque was built following an angelic vision that Abd al-Rahman I had while peacefully sleeping in the al-Ruzafa Palace.

In this vision, an angel appeared to the Emir and reproached him for all the help Allah had offered him. Abd al-Rahman I was the only survivor of his lineage who emigrated from Damascus to al-Andalus, and after victorious battles, he became the Emir of the splendid Córdoba.

That is why the angel asked him: "What have you done for Allah? What have you given in return?" The next morning, the Emir woke up with the idea of building one of the most magnificent mosques in the world.

2. The Legend of the Captive

The Legend of the Captive is one of the most well-known legends surrounding the Mosque of Córdoba. According to this legend, a young Christian man who worked as a gardener fell in love with an Arab girl who came to buy at his shop. The boy asked her to marry him, and she promised to convert to Christianity to be his wife.

Thus, the girl had everything arranged for the wedding. But on the night she was going to be baptized, some Arab soldiers killed her and threw her body into the river. They also captured the gardener and tied him to one of the columns of the mosque.

During his captivity, and to not lose his faith, the chained man carved a cross on the marble column with his own nails, which you can see if you take one of our guided tours of the Mosque of Córdoba.

3. The Legend of the Santa María Fountain, in the Courtyard of the Oranges of the Mosque of Córdoba

According to popular tradition, the Santa María Fountain, located in the Courtyard of the Oranges of the Mosque of Córdoba, has surprising properties.

According to the legend, unmarried women who drink from the fountain’s spout closest to the Olive tree that guards it will marry. Thus, it is a tradition among unmarried women in Córdoba to drink from the fountain when they wish to get married.

4. The Tunnel between Medina Azahara and the Mosque

A widespread legend in Córdoba is the existence of a secret underground tunnel connecting the palatial city of Medina Azahara with the Mosque of Córdoba. However, no remains of this tunnel have ever been found.

Medina Azahara, located about 8 km from Córdoba, has been described by scholars as the Versailles of the Middle Ages. It was the new symbolic city of the Caliph, through which, along with the Mosque and other city works, the Caliphate of Córdoba displayed its power. The city was destroyed just 100 years after its foundation, in a civil war that marked the end of the Caliphate of Córdoba.

According to the legend, the tunnel connecting Medina Azahara with the Mosque of Córdoba was built during the reign of Caliph Abd al-Rahman III, allowing the Caliph to ride directly from Medina Azahara to the Mosque of Córdoba to perform his daily prayers.

5. The Hell Column of the Mosque of Córdoba

Among the thousands of columns in the Mosque of Córdoba, there is one protected by a screen that holds another of the popular legends surrounding the Mosque of Córdoba. According to the story, when people scratch the column with a coin, a foul smell of sulfur emanates.

Thus, the rumor spread among the people of Córdoba that the column was carved from the depths of hell. A legend that later had its scientific explanation. According to researchers, the smell emitted by the column is actually the result of a chemical reaction that occurs when a metal object is rubbed against sulfuric acid.

6. The Healing Columns of the Mosque

Another of the legends surrounding the columns of the Mosque of Córdoba is about their healing properties.

Among the people of Córdoba, it was said that the columns could cure diseases, which led some citizens to even break off pieces of them to take home.

7. The Legend of the Ox

One of the few legends of the Mosque where the protagonist is an animal is the legend of the ox. Although there is no proof to verify its authenticity, it is a widely spread rumor among the people of Córdoba.

According to the legend, the sculpture of an ox near the pulpit of the Main Chapel dates back to Muslim times. The sculpture was made in honor of a beautiful white ox, which was used to transport the columns for the construction of the Mosque.

When the last column was unloaded, the ox, exhausted, died on the spot. That is why the famous sculpture was built in its honor, at the request of its owner.

8. The Legend of the Gold Chain in the Mihrab of the Mosque of Córdoba

In the mihrab of the Mosque of Córdoba, there is a large gold chain that hangs from the ceiling. It is said that in its most glorious times, the gold chain was so long that it even coiled upon itself.

According to the story, today it is much shorter due to the bishops who later occupied the temple. Each time the Catholics needed to make repairs or buy something, they would cut a piece of that chain. That’s why today, the gold chain doesn’t even reach the floor of the Temple.