Mosque of las Tornerías

Mosque of las Tornerías
Spanish: Mezquita de las Tornerías
Prayer hall on the former mosque's upper floor
Religion
AffiliationIslam (former)
Ecclesiastical or organisational status
Status
  • Inactive (as a mosque);
  • Repurposed
Location
CountrySpain
Location of the former mosque in the Castile-La Mancha
Coordinates39°51′31″N 4°01′22″W / 39.8585°N 4.0228°W / 39.8585; -4.0228
Architecture
TypeMosque architecture
StyleMoorish
Completedc. 11-12th century

The Mosque of las Tornerías (Spanish: Mezquita de las Tornerías; Arabic: al-Mustimim) is a former mosque in Toledo, in the Castile-La Mancha of Spain. The former Moorish-style mosque was built in the middle of the 11th century on the foundations of Roman architecture, located in the old Muslim neighborhood Arrabal de Francos. Currently it houses the "Center Foundation of Promotion of the Crafts", that can be visited and hosts temporary exhibitions.

The building continued maintaining the Islamic faith in Spain well beyond the reconquista of the city by the Christian troops of Alfonso VI of León and Castile in 1085, until the period of 1498–1505, when it was desacralizated by the Catholic Monarchs. Already as a building for civil use, it went through various vicissitudes, first as an inn in 1505 and then as the headquarters of different businesses and small factories or as a simple home. Its history was lost until the late 19th century, when historians investigating its origins didn't know whether it was a synagogue or a mosque. After the studies, on 15 March 1905, the finding of an Arab mosque in the street of the Tornerías was officially communicated to the Real Academia de la Historia.