BRIEF EXPLANATION |
The Jewish Quarter is an area located in the center of the city of Girona. It is one of the best preserved Jewish quarters in Europe. Most of its architectural constructions are very well-preserved, and this allows us to reconstruct their life: to know where they prayed, what they ate, where they bathed… |
We will meet at the “meeting point” of Girona to start the following itinerary.
The numbers on the map below are the most emblematic places in the Jewish Quarter. A brief explanation of each of these places can be found below.
This last map shows all the alleys of the Jewish quarter:
The first place we will visit is the Requesens Castle. Until the 19th century, it was used as a prison. A few years later, it was demolished and all the Jews who weren’t living in the Jewish Quarter settled there. | |
Then, we will enter the Carrer de Sant Llorenç de la Força Vella. It is located in the centre of the Jewish Quarter. It is an extremely narrow street. For a long time, the street only had houses on the right-hand side, as the entire left-hand side was walled in. | |
We will keep walking along this street until we reach the Museum of Girona, located in the “Placeta de l'Institut Vell ”.
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Only a few meters ahead, we will come across the “Portal del Mercadell ”. Nowadays, it’s only a square called “El mercat del Lleó”. As you can see in this picture, there used to be a huge door, but it was demolished because it was considered an obstacle to the widening of the city. | |
The Jews had a reserved area dedicated to the sale of fruit, vegetables, home-made bread... It was called "El Mercadell", but nowadays, it is known as the "Plaça de la Catedral". | |
Plaça del Mercat del Call jueu, inside the current building of the “Pia Almoina”, headquarters of the College of Architects. | |
"Casa de l'Ardiaca Major" stands on the site of an ancient Roman building. The building was constructed between the 16th and 17th centuries to house the major archdeacons of the Cathedral. | |
“La Plaça dels Apòstols" had been occupied by dwellings of the clergy and a cemetery, still visible in the nearest part of the building, the so-called "carner del marrec". | |
This place, "El Portal de la Jueria", is the gateway to the Jewish Quarter. Despite the transformations that the Jewish quarter underwent after the expulsion of the Jews in 1492, many of the sites are still standing, obviously modified. | |
In the 19th century it was called Carrer Bosqui. Nowadays, it is called Carrer de Cúndaro. As you can see in the picture, the street is very narrow. |
