Photograph of the Puente Viejo over the River Guadalquivir. The river runs through the city of Córdoba in Andalusia, southern Spain. In the distance stands the Cathedral.

Córdoba Cathedral was first built by the Visigoths as a Catholic church. During the 8th Century Spain was conquested by Muslim forces. During this time, Córdoba Cathedral was shared as a place of worship between Christian and Muslim worshippers. At the end of the 9th century, during the Reconquista in which Christian Iberian forces seized Muslim territories, the Cathedral was converted to a Christian church.