Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
El Call Major and the Antiga Sinagoga
SouthofPlaçaSantFelipNeriyouenterwhatwasoncethemedieval
Jewishquarter
ofBar-
celona, centred on c/de Sant Domènec del Call. The city authorities have signposted some
of the points of interest in what's known as
El Call Major
(
Call
is the Catalan word for a
narrow passage).
Antiga Sinagoga
C/Marlet5,cornerwithc/deSantDomènecdelCall•Mon-Fri10.30am-6pm,Sat&Sun10.30am-3pm,some-
times closed Sat for ceremonies • €2.50 • 933 170 790,
calldebarcelona.org
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The Jewish quarter's most notable extant landmark is the main synagogue, the
Antiga Sin-
agoga
. A synagogue existed here, on the edge of the Roman forum, from the third century
AD until the pogrom of 1391, but even after that date the building survived in various guises
- the sunken dye vats from a family business of fifteenth-century New Christian (forcibly
converted Jews) dyers are still visible, alongside some original Roman walling. Not many
people stop by the synagogue - if you do, you'll get a personalized tour of the small room by
a member of the local Jewish community.
JEWISH BARCELONA
TherewereJewslivinginBarcelonaasearlyastheninthcentury,andaJewishdistrictwas
documented in the city by the eleventh. Later, as elsewhere in Spain, Barcelona's
mediev-
al Jewish quarter
lay nestled in the shadow of the cathedral; under the Church's careful
scrutiny. In the thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries some of the realm's greatest and
most powerful administrators, tax collectors and ambassadors hailed from here, but reac-
tionary trends sparked persecution and led to the closing off of the community in these
narrow, dark alleys. Nevertheless, a prosperous settlement persisted until the pogrom and
forcedconversionof1391andexileof1492(see
TheInquisitioninCatalunya
).Todaylittle
except the street name and the synagogue survives as a reminder of the Jewish presence
- after their expulsion, most of the buildings used by the Jews were torn down and used
for construction elsewhere in the city. With the demise of the Franco regime, a small com-
munity was again established in Barcelona, and in recent years there has been a revival in
interestinBarcelona'sJewishheritage.Aswellasthesynagogue,thesitesofthebutchers',
bakers', fishmongers' and Jewish baths have all been identified, while over on the eastern
side of Montjuïc (ie, Jewish Mountain) was the Jewish cemetery - the castle at Montjuïc
displays around thirty tombstones recovered from the cemetery in the early twentieth cen-
tury.
Centre d'Interpretació del Call
Pl. Manuel Ribé • Tues-Fri 10am-2pm, Sat & Sun 10am-7pm • Free (exhibit on second floor €2.20) • 932
562 100,
www.museuhistoria.bcn.cat
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