Latest news with #TouristAttraction
France 24
09-08-2025
- General
- France 24
Historic Spanish mosque-cathedral reopens after blaze
The spectacular blaze broke out on Friday at about 9:00 pm (1900 GMT), raising fears for the early medieval architectural gem and evoking memories of the 2019 fire that ravaged Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. Widely shared videos had shown flames and smoke billowing from inside the major tourist attraction, which is considered a jewel of Islamic architecture and is visited by two million people per year. "There is some damage, significant damage, but it is very, very localised," the mayor of Cordoba, Jose Maria Bellido, told reporters outside the site which opened to the public as usual in the morning. Most of the damage is concentrated in a chapel where the fire broke out, whose roof "completely collapsed" due to the flames and the weight of the water used to put them out, he added in an interview with Spanish public television. The mayor estimated that the fire damaged approximately 50 to 60 square metres of the building, which has a total interior area of around 3,000 square metres. "Fortunately yesterday a catastrophe was avoided that could have meant losing the entire mosque-cathedral," he said. The fire-damaged section, known as the Almanzor nave, was cordoned off with waist-high barriers. Several fire engines and police lined a street near the building on Saturday morning as tourists lined up to get inside, images broadcast on Spanish media showed. The fire-damaged section, known as the Almanzor nave, remained cordoned off. A total of 35 firefighters worked throughout the night to monitor the area and cool the walls after the blaze was extinguished, the head of Cordoba's firefighting service, Daniel Munoz, said. Forensics police were at the scene on Saturday to try to determine the cause of the fire, he added. ABC and other newspapers reported that a mechanical sweeping machine had caught fire in the site. The site was built as a mosque -- on the site of an earlier church -- between the 8th and 10th centuries by the southern city's then Muslim ruler, Abd ar-Rahman, an emir of the Umayyad dynasty. After Christians reconquered Spain in the 13th century under King Ferdinand III of Castile, it was converted into a cathedral and architectural alterations were made over following centuries. The building was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984 due to its architectural and cultural significance. This is the third recorded fire in the nearly 1,000-year history of the building, following incidents in 1910 and 2001.
BBC News
21-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
State of Three Tuns pub in Bishop's Castle branded a travesty
Disrepair at a tourist attraction pub has been branded an "embarrassment" one week on from its Three Tuns Inn in Bishop's Castle, Shropshire, shut its doors on 11 July due to "unforeseen circumstances", owner Heineken Star Pubs sits next to the Three Tuns Brewery, established in 1642 and believed to be the oldest licensed brewing site in Britain. But while there has been no direct link between the pair for 20 years, the pub still draws the attention of visitors fascinated by the industrial history next door. Now, though, those tourists can no longer get a pint - an issue which could dent the wider local economy, some observers fear. Town councillor Tim Halford said the pub was the "biggest tourism attraction in this town", but was now "an embarrassment and a travesty"."There's plaster falling off the walls, you can't read the name - it is looking decrepit, it is sad, it is tired," he stated, adding the Bishop's Castle community would fight for the pub to re-open. "We will not let this happen - it is very sad," he Star Pubs said it wanted "to reopen the pub as soon as possible", adding it was "looking to recruit a new licensee". As well as a brewing legacy, the venue boasts a long list of famous patrons, including Rod Stewart and Robert Plant, and bears a blue plaque remembering customer Jerry Lordan - a songwriter for stars including Cliff Richard. The town's mayor Josh Dickin is concerned there will be an impact on tourism as the summer holidays begin."We will see a knock-on effect, because people are coming here and they're very disappointed [by the pub]," he said. "I fear that those tourists may never come back - without the Three Tuns that's now unfortunately shut, and before wasn't firing on all cylinders, it's detrimental to our tourist economy." As well as a place for a drink, the Three Tuns Inn plays an important role in the town's dancers and singers Trevor and Kay Hedges said they were "very sad" about the pub's closure."It's the centre of the community," said Mrs Hedges, adding that her morris side practices there every single week."Without the Three Tuns, there's nowhere quite the same," she said. Mr Hedges recalled that 45 years ago on his "very first night in Shropshire" he was taken to a concert at the venue."I've been to concerts there, I've played at concerts there, we dance there every week - it's very sad," he explained. A spokesperson for Heineken Star Pubs said that "due to unforeseen circumstances the previous temporary operator has had to close The Three Tuns".They added that the company wanted to re-open the pub "as soon as possible" and were "looking to recruit a new licensee", and were "very keen to undertake a major transformational internal and external refurbishment of The Three Tuns once a suitable candidate has been identified to take the pub forward".Three Tuns Brewery told BBC Radio Shropshire that "like many in the community, we're saddened to see [the pub] close and remain hopeful it will re-open under new stewardship that reflects its heritage and potential". Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
