Holy Week in Córdoba

Penitential processions proliferated in Córdoba in the 16th century, during the Counter-Reformation. The celebration suffered a sharp decline after the so-called Trevilla Decree of 1819, which banned all processions except an official Holy Burial on Good Friday, so that the brotherhoods were reduced to internal worship for three decades.

The reorganisation of the official procession began in 1849 under the City Council, and the modern refoundation of the festival came at the beginning of the 20th century, with new brotherhoods inspired by the models of Seville and Málaga. Among the oldest are the Brotherhood of El Calvario, founded in 1722, the Brotherhood of Las Angustias, from the mid-16th century, and the Brotherhood of La Caridad, refounded in 1939 on a confraternity documented since 1469.

The Association of Brotherhoods and Confraternities of Córdoba was created in 1944 as the regulatory body for all the confraternities. In 2016 the brotherhoods unanimously agreed to make a joint penitential station in the Cathedral, and in 2017 a new door was opened in the Mosque-Cathedral allowing the uninterrupted passage of the floats, more than 150 years after it had ceased.

Since the 2016-2017 reform, all the brotherhoods that follow the official route enter through the reopened door of the Mosque-Cathedral, declared a World Heritage Site in 1984, and complete their penitential station inside. It is one of the moments most sought after by those who follow Holy Week in Córdoba.

This 1794 sculpture, by Juan Navarro León, is lit by eight lanterns that give it its popular name. Three brotherhoods pass through Plaza de Capuchinos: the Brotherhood of La Sangre on Holy Tuesday, the Brotherhood of La Paz on Holy Wednesday and the Brotherhood of Los Dolores on Good Friday.

At 00:00 on Good Friday the Brotherhood of La Buena Muerte leaves the Royal Collegiate Church of San Hipólito, in complete silence and with no musical accompaniment. It is one of the most solemn moments of the whole Holy Week, with seven brotherhoods processing between the early hours and the night of that day.

The narrow streets of the Jewish Quarter, together with Plaza del Potro and the Roman Bridge, are among the spots the City Council recommends for watching the processions pass in a setting declared a World Heritage Site.

Holy Week runs from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, eight days in total. The date depends on the lunar calendar: Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the first full moon of spring, so it can fall between 22 March and 25 April depending on the year.

In 2026 it was held from 29 March to 5 April. According to the liturgical calculation, in 2027 Palm Sunday falls on 21 March and Easter Sunday on 28 March, one of the earliest editions of recent decades. The Association of Brotherhoods and Confraternities publishes every year, months in advance, the itinerary and detailed times of each brotherhood, available free of charge in establishments around the city.

Preparations, including the public rehearsals of the bearers, begin about three months before the big week.

Access to the official route and the streets of the itinerary is free and open. It is worth arriving with time to spare before each brotherhood passes to secure a good spot, especially in the Jewish Quarter and in front of the Mosque-Cathedral.

The floats can weigh up to three tonnes, so they move slowly and the waits between one float and the next can be long. Comfortable footwear is advisable, and allow several hours on your feet if you want to follow a whole brotherhood.

It is worth bearing in mind the custom, revived in recent years, of opening some Cordoban patios on Holy Thursday, a different way of experiencing the most solemn day away from the official route.

The brotherhoods and their specific itineraries change every year, so it is worth checking the Association's official programme before planning your visit. Holy Week also opens the spring festival calendar in Córdoba, which continues a few weeks later with the May Crosses, the Patios Festival and the Córdoba Fair.