Jewish Monuments in Spain

Jewish Spain: Important Jewish Cities & Monuments in Spain

Spain was a land of promise for Jews in the Middle Ages, until the 1492 explusion by the Catholic Kings (Reyes Catolicos). There are a number of towns and cities in Spain that are important to Jewish heritage in the country. Below is a list of the cities that make up Jewish Spain, with details of what there is to see in each city.

Jewish Cáceres

Cáceres had two Jewish quarters, each with a synagogue. The Judería Vieja (Old Jewish Quarter) had its synagogue where the San Antonio hermitage stands today. The synagogue of the Judería Nueva (New Jewish Quarter) stood on c/Cruz, but no longer stands.

See pictures of Caceres

Jewish Córdoba

Córdoba's Jewish quarter is one of the most famous in Spain. The whitewashed walls of the district just north of the great Mezquita mosque is one of the most popular sights in the city. The streets of Tomas Conde, Judíos and Plaza Juda Leví make up the majority of the Jewish quarter (in Plaza Juda Leví you can find the municipal tourist office with lots of information on the Jewish community in Córdoba.

The 14th-century synagogue in Córdoba is the only one in Andalusia and the only synagogue in Spain that was never turned into a Christian building. Other important sights in the Jewish Quarter include a bull museum and a monument to Jewish philosopher and doctor Maimonides.

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Jewish Girona

The Jewish quarter in Girona is called the 'Call' and is one of the best preserved in Europe. The streets of Carrer de Sant Llorenç and Carreró, Travessia del Dr Luis Batlle and Carrer del Dr Miquel Oliva make up the main part of the Jewish quarter here. Torre Gironella is the famous refuge of the Jews during troubled times.

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Jewish Hervás

The Jewish quarter begins around La Plaza and goes up to the river, where you will find a number of small winding streets. It consisted of the streets of Call del Vado, Calle Amistad Judeocristiana and Calleja de los Cofrades, but most of the original Jewish buildings have long been in the hands of other religions. The synagogue was on Calle del Rabilero.

Jewish Oviedo

Oviedo hasn't had a sizeable Jewish population for some time (since the 13th century), so there are few Jewish sights today in Oviedo. The old Jewish quarter would have stretched from Puerta del Castiello to Puerta Nueva de Soscastiello.

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Jewish Ribadavia

Ribadavia's Jewish heritage is quite well preserved. There are a number of festivals in Ribadavia that have Jewish origins - the Festa da Istoria, the Boda Judía and performances of Sephardic music. The synagogue would have been on Plaza de la Magdalena.

Ribadavia is a good place to get information on Jewish Spain, as the Network of Jewish Quarters in Spain and the Sephardic Information Center of Galicia are both in this town.

Jewish Segovia

The old Sinagoga Mayor is now the Corpus Christi church and marks the start of the Jewish quarter, which stretches from there to the Canonjía. The tourist information center in Segovia has a lot of good information on the city's Jewish quarter, including recommended routes through the district.

Read more about Segovia

Jewish Toledo

Toledo had one of the largest Jewish populations in Spain. A good place to see the old Jewish quarter is from the Mirador de San Cristóbal. The quarter stretches from Calle Taller del Moro as far as the city walls at the Puerta del Cambrón. Two of the city's ten synagogues still survive as they had been converted into churches following the expulsion of the Jews - the Sinagoga del Tránsito (now a museum) and the Sinagoga Santa Maria la Blanca. Ask for more information on Jewish Toledo at the museum in the Tránsito synagogue.

Read more about Toledo

Jewish Tortosa

The Catalan town of Tortosa has a strong history of both Muslims and Jews. The Jews in the town occupied an important position in the town as early as the eighth century, when the town was occupied by the Muslims, as they were able to provide a link between the Christians and the Jews. When the Christians liberated the town in the 12th century, the Jews received the Muslim shipyards. The new Jewish quarter, founded in the 13th century, is still well preserved to this day, occupying the streets around Major de Remolins.

Jewish Tudela

Tudela had two Jewish quarters, the Juderia Vetula (around c/San Julián) and the Juderia Nueva (along Paseo del Castillo) and once had three synagogues, though no one is entirely sure where they were.