Was there a Jewish Quarter in Seville? Where was it located and what was it like? What can you visit there today? These are some of the questions you will find answers to in this blog post. And we remind you that if you have a special interest in learning about the Sephardic past of Andalusia, you can contact our agency.
Where Seville’s Jewish Quarter Was and What it Was Like
There is a consensus that Seville had its own Jewish Quarter since the Reconquest of the city by King Ferdinand III in 1248. Even more so since his son, King Alfonso X, promoted the establishment of a large Jewish population in the city. The territory chosen for this was what today comprises the Santa Cruz and San Bartolomé quarters. In fact, this area is still popularly known as Seville’s Jewish Quarter… although little remains of it, as this place was the epicenter of the tragic and bloody pogrom of 1391, in which several thousand Sephardic Jews were murdered, and after which the quarter was practically devoid of any Jewish presence.
What Remains of Seville’s Old Jewish Quarter
It can be said that the Jewish Quarter of Seville lives on in the collective imagination, to which the names of some streets, such as Calle Judería and Calle Vida, contribute. Also remembered are the locations of the synagogues the quarter once had, which were established where synagogues previously stood, thanks to the concessions of Alfonso X.
The main one was the one now occupied by the Church of Santa María la Blanca. It is believed that there were at least two others: one where the Church of San Bartolomé currently stands and another in the Plazuela de Santa Cruz.
Furthermore, the memory remains of important figures who resided in this area before and after the 1391 pogrom. For example, Samuel Ha-Leví, treasurer to King Pedro I (who died in prison accused of embezzlement, though this was never proven) and the young Susona Ben Suzón, who, out of love for a young Christian man, denounced her father (and, repentant, requested in her will that her skull be displayed after her own death), as a plaque on Calle Susona attests.
Points of Interest in the Santa Cruz Quarter
In addition to all these vestiges and evocations, you can visit the Santa Cruz Quarter to discover many other points of interest.
- Hospital de los Venerables, a Baroque building converted into a museum with important works by Valdés Leal and Velázquez, among others
- The Murillo House Museum
- Sections of the old Almohad wall
- The Convent of San José del Carmen, with relics of Saint Teresa of Jesus
- Palace-houses, such as the Palacio de Altamira
- … and all of this, just a stone’s throw from the Cathedral (the Giralda ‘reappears’ recurrently among the narrow streets) and the Royal Alcázar
Moreover, another reason to visit Seville’s old Jewish Quarter is its popular and lively atmosphere, with taverns and flamenco tablaos among its offerings.
