diff --git a/src/cmake/externalpackages.cmake b/src/cmake/externalpackages.cmake
index ff9aaf6767..a2d5aabf04 100644
--- a/src/cmake/externalpackages.cmake
+++ b/src/cmake/externalpackages.cmake
@@ -158,8 +158,9 @@ endif()
 
 # From pythonutils.cmake
 find_python()
-
-checked_find_package (pybind11 REQUIRED VERSION_MIN 2.4.2)
+if (USE_PYTHON)
+    checked_find_package (pybind11 REQUIRED VERSION_MIN 2.4.2)
+endif ()
 
 
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