The tower is square-shaped, the sides measuring 7.4 m (24 ft). Built of limestone ashlar 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 horseshoe arch 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 origin or was built later during the Christian period.[3][4] It does however appear to have been consolidated as part of the defences following the Christian conquest of Córdoba in 1236.[5]
The tower underwent restoration work in 2000 which also included the chapel and the altarpiece.[6]
Galleryedit
Eastern wall from San Basilio
View from the northwest
Access to the city walls
Referencesedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Torre de Belén (Córdoba, Spain).
^"Historic Centre of Cordoba". UNESCO. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
^"El Alcázar Viejo" (in Spanish). Arte en Córdoba. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
^"Alcázar Viejo" (in Spanish). CastillosNet. Archived from the original on 23 July 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
^Ruano, Eloy Benito; Lacave, José Luis; Alvarez, Ana María López; Ricardo Izquierdo Benito (2003). Juderías y sinagogas de la Sefarad medieval: en memoria de José Luis Lacave Riaño. Univ de Castilla La Mancha. pp. 63–. ISBN978-84-8427-226-7.
^"Córdoba (V): siglo XIV, la consolidación cristiana de la ciudad" (in Spanish). una Ventana desde Madrid. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
^Cabrera, Jesus (19 October 1999). "Cultura invierte 158 millones en restaurar la muralla de Córdoba". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 January 2014.
torre, belén, confused, with, belém, tower, literally, bethlehem, tower, located, basilio, neighbourhood, córdoba, spain, forms, part, historic, centre, córdoba, unesco, world, heritage, site, tower, fine, example, former, defensive, gate, providing, access, w. Not to be confused with Belem Tower The Torre de Belen literally Bethlehem Tower is located in the San Basilio neighbourhood of Cordoba Spain It forms part of the Historic centre of Cordoba a UNESCO World Heritage Site 1 The tower is a fine example of a former defensive gate providing access to a walled enclosure 2 Torre de Benen CordobaDescription editThe tower is square shaped the sides measuring 7 4 m 24 ft Built of limestone ashlar 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 horseshoe arch 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 Imagines 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 origin or was built later during the Christian period 3 4 It does however appear to have been consolidated as part of the defences following the Christian conquest of Cordoba in 1236 5 The tower underwent restoration work in 2000 which also included the chapel and the altarpiece 6 Gallery edit nbsp Eastern wall from San Basilio nbsp View from the northwest nbsp Access to the city wallsReferences edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Torre de Belen Cordoba Spain Historic Centre of Cordoba UNESCO Retrieved 30 December 2013 El Alcazar Viejo in Spanish Arte en Cordoba Retrieved 2 January 2013 Alcazar Viejo in Spanish CastillosNet Archived from the original on 23 July 2013 Retrieved 3 January 2014 Ruano Eloy Benito Lacave Jose Luis Alvarez Ana Maria Lopez Ricardo Izquierdo Benito 2003 Juderias y sinagogas de la Sefarad medieval en memoria de Jose Luis Lacave Riano Univ de Castilla La Mancha pp 63 ISBN 978 84 8427 226 7 Cordoba V siglo XIV la consolidacion cristiana de la ciudad in Spanish una Ventana desde Madrid Retrieved 3 January 2014 Cabrera Jesus 19 October 1999 Cultura invierte 158 millones en restaurar la muralla de Cordoba El Pais in Spanish Retrieved 3 January 2014 37 52 36 N 04 47 28 W 37 87667 N 4 79111 W 37 87667 4 79111 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Torre de Belen amp oldid 1171236273, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
