Malmuerta Tower

The Malmuerta Tower is a monument of the city of Cordoba with many years of history. It was an albarrana tower of Cordoba that shows the medieval architecture used centuries ago, making it a walk into the past to relive how people lived in those times. It was built between 1404 and 1408 by Muslim workers, being part of the wall that occupied the northern part of Cordoba.

It has a room that only communicates to the outside by thin arrow slits, and contains a staircase to reach the upper floor. Although it has a great view, today it is not possible to access its interior, so you can only enjoy this monument from the outside.

Here you will find all the information about the Torre de la Malmuerta, the Torre albarrana in Cordoba.

Where is the Torre de la Malmuerta?

The Malmuerta tower is located at the junction between Avenida de las Ollerías and Plaza de Colón, 14004 Córdoba.

Monuments near the Malmuerta Tower

Roman Temple (850 meters)

Corredera Square (950 meters)

History of the Malmuerta Tower

The Malmuerta Tower was inspired by the Seville Gate of the Old Alcazar, being an albarrana tower that was connected to the walled system of the city by means of two semicircular arches. Its construction in stone and its octagonal plant make it have a good reinforcement in its foundations.

Under its arch, there is an embedded shield, the shield of the monarch Enrique III with an inscription: “In the name of God. Because good deeds are not forgotten, tonight the very powerful King D.Enrique ordered the foundation of Doctor Pedro Sánchez, corregidor of this city, to be built. E began to sit in the year of our Lord Jesus Christ MCCCCIV being Bishop D. Fernando Deza… e acabose in the year of MCCCCCCVIII”.

Over the years, this monument has attracted different media due to the popular culture, through which legends run around this tower albarrana. From a necromancer Moor who hid a great treasure in it, collapsing when a galloping knight could read the inscription under its arches thus making the treasure appear.

The tower once it lost its function as a military defense, was the site of an astronomical observatory in the eighteenth century, besides being a deposit of gunpowder and fumigation chamber in years of strong epidemics.

In the 20th century, the then mayor Alfonso Cruz Conde, arranged the interior hall for the “exaltation of the Cordobeses who took part in the Columbian epic”.

It is a tower full of history, legends and culture. Ideal to visit Cordoba and enjoy the past.

Legend of the Torre de la Malmuerta (Tower of the Death Eater)

The legend of the Tower of the Malmuerta collected in “The Commanders of Córdoba” consists of the death of the Commanders of Córdoba, and the legend consists of Don Fernán Alonso de Córdoba, married to Doña Beatriz de Hinestrosa, who had relations outside her marriage with Don Jorge de Soiler y Fernández, who was Commander of Cabeza del Buey. Don Fernán, found out that his wife was unfaithful to him and one night of August in the year 1448 he killed Don Jorge, his wife Beatriz, his brother Fernando and three servants.

After having committed such crimes, he fled the city, although he relied on a letter of immunity signed by King Juan II, freeing anyone who served him on the Antequera front for a year, regardless of the caliber of his crime.

Once this year had passed, Don Fernán Alonso de Córdoba returned to the city.

The legend of the Tower of the Malmuerta enters here, created popularly, and it is said that as payment for the murders that Don Fernán Alonso de Córdoba did, he was forced to erect the Tower of the Malmuerta.

Frequently asked questions about Torre de la Malmuerta