Did you know that around the year
785 / 168
(over 1200 years ago) a mosque had already been built in Europe? This happend in Córdoba in Muslim Spain (Andalus). At that period many Europeans (in the north and east of the continent) had not yet been converted to Christianity (they were pagan).
For five centuries the mosque remained one of the largest in the world until it was captured by Christians in 1236 CE and was turned into a cathedral. If you would visit the building today you would still be able to recognize many parts that were part of the mosque.
One of the oldest mosques in Europe
![The mosque of Córdoba, Spain](../img/general/cordoba_mosque.jpg)