Aljibe de San Nicolas - Granada

The Aljibe de San Nicolás is located in the heart of the Albayzín , opposite the side of the Church of San Nicolás, and is perhaps the most visited and photographed cistern in Granada due to its privileged location.

Most of the cisterns in the Albayzín were fed with water from the Aynadamar irrigation canal . The public cisterns provided the water supply for human consumption in Islamic Granada. Not everyone could have a cistern in their home, so the public institutions were responsible for building and managing the cisterns in the streets, in the squares and outside the mosques, with 28 public cisterns in the ancient Moorish Alcazaba.

Dating from the Christian period, the Aljibe de San Nicolás is one of the largest cisterns in Granada . There are references to its existence in the 17th century . It was built on the remains of a cistern that existed during the Islamic rule, in the 11th century , and was connected to the Azitini Mosque, where the Church of San Nicolás now stands.

Facing south, the main facade of the Cistern of San Nicolás is crowned by a curved brick pediment with a niche reminiscent of baroque chapels and chapels. On the opposite side is a pillar with two spouts.

The main part of the cistern consists of a large niche, almost 5 m long , covered with a barrel vault. The cistern has a capacity of 62 m3 , making it one of the largest in Granada. The current structure of this structure dates back to the 1940s, when the square and viewpoint of San Nicolás were built.

Willem Vandenameele