The removal of the second door of the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba in 2017 to parade the processional steps at Easter does not meet the legal requirements of heritage protection. This has been stated by the Andalusian Superior Court of Justice , which has confirmed the ruling of the Administrative Law Court number 4 of Córdoba and which requires the replacement of the latticework . Both the Junta de Andalucía and the Association of Brotherhoods and Brotherhoods of Córdoba have maintained throughout the judicial process that said withdrawal was a good for the monument. This intervention was denounced by the architect Rafael De La Hoz, son of the author of the latticework.

According to the ruling provided by the TSJA to EL MUNDO, the Andalusian court flatly rejects the appeals filed by both the public administration and the association. It was the latter entity that requested the Cathedral Council of Córdoba to remove the latticework to facilitate access and circulation of the Easter passages inside the Mosque. It must be remembered that it was the previous Minister of Culture, Rosa Aguilar, who authorized the withdrawal and who has always maintained its legality.

However, the TSJA is clear on this point. Although he acknowledges that the Andalusian administration has a certain margin of discretion to authorize certain interventions in monuments, "this margin can only be exercised within the limits of the regulations". He emphasizes that "a decision, for religious reasons, can never be better" than acting against the law, as in this case would have happened.

In this sense, the magistrate argues that the removal of the latticework was not in accordance with Spanish and Andalusian heritage protection regulations and is based on the 2007 Historical Heritage of Andalusia law , as the Cordoba court has already done.

In his argumentation, the judge is very critical of the arguments put forward by the Andalusian Government, which states that the removal of the second door responded to a maintenance of the monument and that, without it, it would have fallen into "ruin or death". The TSJA assures that this argument cannot be sustained "since the Mosque is not just any monument, as it is a Unesco World Heritage , so its value is exceptional." This character is the one that requires "applying the best jurisdictional doctrine" for its maintenance.

The TSJA also refuses that this intervention has led to an improvement in the heritage of the Mosque given that "it is not explained to what extent the heritage is better preserved or what enrichment" it has for the monument, "all for a use for which it is not accredited not even its value as a tradition, "he insists. The court also rejects the Andalusian Government's argument regarding the timeless nature of the latticework, which was incorporated in 1974, not constituting an essential part of the Mosque. The magistrate does not enter to assess this issue, nor if its incorporation was positive or negative for the monument, since what it reviews is the legality of its removal.

It should be recalled that there is an appeal against this judgment, an extreme that the Andalusian Government is evaluating, as confirmed by Europa Press. For its part, the Association of Brotherhoods and Brotherhoods of Córdoba has issued a statement in which it declares to abide by the sentence. The association has explained that when it formally receives the ruling it knows through the press, "it will be studied and, at the moment when we have something to say on this matter, we will not hesitate to make it public." Finally, the group has referred to the declarations that they already made in their day, "regarding the action that was carried out and in which we consider that the Board was very prudent and thorough in the study of the project," which "It determined its approval following a report by Icomos Unesco."

Finally, the Cabildo has expressed its respect for the sentence and has pointed out that the Andalusian Government was "prudent and thorough " in granting the authorization to withdraw the latticework. However, the Canon Spokesman of the Chapter Institution, José Juan Jiménez Güeto, has announced "he will study this sentence" and "the pertinent documentation" that may "affect him in some way", and when he has an "formed" opinion he will give it to know.

This judicial decision puts in check the official race of the Cordovan Holy Week in which, after 2017, all the processional steps made a station of penance inside the monument.

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  • Andalusia
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