Fernando III also reorganized the city into fourteen parishes which not only accounted for the new Faith in power but for the new administrative organization of the city too. This reorganization has survived and today the parishes give name to many of the quarters in Córdoba.
Though some were built in the Medina, inside the inner walls of the city, most of the churches were placed in the second walled enclosure: the Axerquía (where our Hotel is located). Viento10, for example, shares the street with the church of Santiago. Even though the church suffered a devastating fire in the XXth century, the common structure is still recognizable. If we go in we can even see that the foundations for the Christian bell tower are those of an old Muslim minaret.
Very close, also, to the Hotel is the Church of San Pedro where the relics of Córdoba's martyrs are preserved. Not far from it we find the Gothic-influenced church of San Pablo that was initially built to be the major parish of the city, hence its enormous nave.
All the “Iglesias Fernandinas” are canonically alligned to the East. They all have three tiered apses with a rib vault, except for the churches of San Pedro and San Pablo where the side apses are straight towards the exterior and semicircular in the interior with a half-dome –yet another example of the Romanesque tradition present nowadays in these “Iglesias Fernandinas”.
Visiting the “Iglesias Fernandinas” of Córdoba
Since most of the churches lack an official touristic agenda with opening and closing touristic times, we recommend that if you want to visit them, as you definitely should, the best thing to do is to consult the mass hours and go then. Churches usually open half an hour before mass so that might be a better time to visit them.
Here the Diocese of Córdoba provides you with the mass schedule for all churches.
I strongly recommend the churches of Santa Marina, San Pablo, San Andrés, San Nicolás de la Villa, San Lorenzo, Santiago, San Pedro, San Miguel and San Agustín.