The Jewish quarter of Besalú

The Jews inhabited the neighborhood next to the Fluvià river in Besalú for more than five centuries and their heritage has endured to date. They settled in Besalú County from the 9th century and lived on the main streets until they were forced to reside only in what would later become the Jewish quarter.

If you want to discover what the Jewish city of Besalú was like, walk through the streets and squares of the medieval quarter, where you will find the butcher shop, the bakery, the jail, the Jewish administration building... And as emblematic monuments of this period: the bridge that gave access to the town, the streets of Pont Vell, Tallaferro and Portalet, the Astruc or Cúria Reial house and the Jewish Square, where the old synagogue and the entrance to the micvé were located, the Jewish purification bath.

The guided tours organized by the Besalú tourist office are the best way to visit the Jewish quarter and learn more about the Jewish history of the town.

The synagogue of Besalú

In the Jewish quarter are all the Jewish institutions and public buildings, except the cemetery. The main building was the synagogue, dating from the 12th century and located next to the Fluvià river. It is one of the oldest and well-preserved synagogues in Spain and is worth visiting to admire its architecture and learn more about Jewish life in the town.

Apart from the micvé, the synagogue complex has the patio where festivals and weddings were held; the school, where classes were given to children and adolescents, and the prayer room, with an upper gallery for women separated from the space for men.

The Besalú micvé

The micvé is a Jewish ritual bath that is used for the purification of the body in religious rituals. Women purified themselves several times throughout their lives, for example, before and after childbirth or wedding. Religious men purified themselves on Fridays to prepare for Saturday, the day dedicated to Yahweh.

The Besalú micvé is located under the remains of the old synagogue, near the Fluvià river, and is believed to date from the end of the 12th century, making it one of the oldest in Europe, and the only one discovered in the Iberian Peninsula.

To access, you must go down a 36-step staircase to a small room where there is a 2.5 meter by 1.5 meter pool. The ritual consists of going down the last 7 steps and immersing yourself three times to purify yourself.