Jewish life prospered In Spain and Catalonia for about one thousand years before the expulsion of the Jews of Spain in 1492. Following the expulsion, an "Ancients Jews boycott" was imposed on Jews who settled or even visited Spain and for some 500 years ago no Jews lived in Spain. This boycott was canceled in 1934, on the occasion of the 800th anniversary of the birth of Maimonides (Rambam). Although a small number of Jews live in Madrid and Barcelona today, in Catalonia there are no Jewish communities aside from Barcelona

Although many Jewish tourists visit, most Jewish travelers are not familiar with the Jewish heritage sites ic. The largest and most important Jewish communities in the Middle Ages were in Barcelona and Girona, where the greast rabbis known as the  Ramban, the Rashba and the Ran lived (described in a separate article). There are significant remnants of Judaism around Catalonia thanks to the  Catalan Tourism office who have made such sites accessible

Becalu

This is a charming little village whose houses and alleyways preserve the medieval style. The entrance to the village is through an ancient stone bridge, with gates and guard towers. It is very pleasant to walk through its ancient alleyways. The main tourist attractions are the Church of St. Vincens, the Monastery of St. Pre, and the Hospital of Julia, but we are particularly interested in Jewish sites. Our tour starts at the tourist information center near the bridge. Maps and explanatory pages are distributed there, including in Hebrew

About a hundred meters after crossing the bridge, we turn left to an area known to this day as "The Jewish quarter", or in its Catalan name "Le Kall". We descend towards the wall, and on our left we see the remains of a synagogue, and the wall of an adjacent building that served as a yeshiva or a "Heder" for Jewish children. The remaining walls are about one meter high. This synagogue is mentioned in old documents from 1264. At the entrance to this synagogue we can see the copper symbol of the "Sepharad" project embedded in the floor

If one arrives in a group with at least ten men, it is recommended to pray Minchah or Arvit in the courtyard of this synagogue in recognition of its former Jewish glory. This is a Kiddush Hashem and  a most meaningful experience. If one cannot pray, one should at least recite a brief prayer

Down the road near the synagogue there is a gate called the "Jews’ gate". Fifteen years ago archaeological excavations were conducted near the wall next to this gate, where they found original stairs from the Middle Ages

The highlight of a visit to the Jewish Quarter is a medieval Mikveh that has been preserved for more than five centuries. Until about 50 years ago, there was a fabrics factory above this place. The plant managers drilled a hole in the factory floor to reach the river, planning to using the water in the production process. As they started drilling they encountered an empty space. Archaeologists later recognized the room as a Jewish Mikveh. To make sure, rabbis were invited to confirm that it contained the necessary measurements for a valid Mikveh

This Mikveh was preserved almost in its entirety, and only minor renovations were needed for complete restoration. It has an underground waiting room that leads to a rectangular immersion room. Even today, there is clear water in the Mikveh that flows from the nearby river of Fluvia, as well as from rainwater. The place is usually locked, but one can get the key from the Tourist Information Center at the beginning of the tour

From documents of ancient wills and burial licenses, we understand that there was also a Jewish cemetery in Bisallu, whose location is unknown. A tombstone with a Hebrew inscription was found in the village, and is now on display at the Museum of Jewish History in Girona

Today there are about 2,500 residents in Bisallu. In the Middle Ages, about 1,000 people lived here, of which about 200 were Jews. The significance of the Jewish population was not only quantitative.  Fifteen of the Jews were medical doctors. The most famous of these was Benedick Dissloger, who had a worldwide reputation as a researcher of the "Black Plague". Another local physician was Rabbi Avraham Diktela, who was the personal physician of the King of Catalonia, and of the district's wealthiest people. Documents from the Middle Ages show that gentiles in the area preferred to receive medical treatment from Jewish doctors rather than from Christian doctors who were considered less expert

During the Middle Ages, Jews and Christians of Bisallu had neighborly relations. Some of the Jews lived in the village center, outside the Jewish quarter. However, in 1391 the Black Plague broke out, and the Jews were accused of poisoning the wells. The positive relationship dissipated, and it became difficult for the Jews to coexist with their neighbors peacefully. In 1415 anti-Jewish decrees were published, including a requirement to sell their homes outside the Jewish quarter within eight days, and for all Jews to be confined to the Jewish quarter. At that point, many Jews decided to leave the village of Bisallu for good. Most of them gradually left for Girona, and a few went to Turkey

According to the municipality's archives, the last Jewish family left the village in 1435. This is one of the few places from which Jews were not expelled in the 1492 expulsion from Spain, simply because there were no Jews left

The walking tour in this village is very pleasant. The atmosphere of the Middle Ages is preserved in stone-paved alleys, in the outer walls of the houses that remained just as they did in the Middle Ages, and in the evidence of a Jewish presence. On three ancient houses you can see grooves carved in stone on the doorways for Mezuzot. Next to the old hospital building is the Struck's family house, where a Mezuzah slot can be seen on the front door, with a sign pointing this out. It is easy to imagine a vibrant Jewish life here, with men and women in their headgear walking in alleys and streets, with Jewish children running to and from school

There is a Jewish festival in Besallu every year at the end of the first week of March. The festival features a market of Jewish products and foods, concerts of Jewish music, and lectures on Judaism. During the summer evenings, walking tours to the Jewish Quarter take place which departs from the Tourist Information Center

In addition to the Tourist Office information, there are also private tour guides who specialize in Bisallu’s Jewish history as well as its general tourist sites. To book a reservation, one can contact www.arsdidactica.com. Based on my very positive experience, it is highly recommended

Castello d'Empuries

Here was a large and important Jewish community until the expulsion of Jews from Spain at 1492. Documents from the municipal archives attest to a vibrant commercial life in the town, and many of them bear Jewish names. More evidence of a Jewish presence can be found in property and land ownership documents. Some 2,000 people lived in the town during the Middle Ages, of whom 300 were Jews. The names of some of the streets in the town attest to the large and important community that existed here until the expulsion from Spain

     

Street name signs: Jewish Street and Kall (Jewish Quarter) Street

The existence of the Jewish population here was recognized worldwide thanks to the 13th century Jewish poet Isaac Castellion. His poems are preserved to this day in the archives of the British Library

Historical documents mention both the synagogue and mikveh, but their exact location were unknown until recently.  About three years ago someone purchased an abandoned old house, but before the renovation and demolition work he did an archaeological survey. This is how the synagogue and the Mikveh were discovered, which date to 1264. This makes the Mikveh the oldest in Europe. The house renovation continued while preserving the remains of the synagogue and the Mikveh

Today the building is a private residence closed to the public. Address: C / Peixateries Velles. A visit inside should be arranged in advance through the Tourist Office at: turisme@castello.cat

A general museum of the Middle Ages is located a two minute walk from the synagogue. This museum contains a section on Judaism, displaying contemporary accessories such as Kipah, Tefillin, Tallith, prayer book, place for mezuzah, etc. (The address: Placa Jaume 1

Outside the town was a Jewish cemetery near the river, abandoned in the expulsion from Spain. Over the years builders have robbed the graves and taken the tombstones as raw materials for building houses. To this day, some walls of Castello houses are made of gravestones from the Jewish cemetery. Those that contained Hebrew inscriptions facing towards the streets were removed and replaced. Some of these tombstones are displayed now in the local museum, right behind the entrance. For example, on a monument from 1315 we can read the Hebrew

Another important site of Jewish significance is the Basilica of Santa Maria in the center of the town, which was built in the 12th century, and is still standing today

In 1417 all the Jews of the town were gathered to the square in front of the basilica. 100 of them were isolated, taken into the church one by one, and baptized against their will. The large baptismal jars are still inside the church, on the right side of the front door. They continue to be used to baptize infants to the present day

In the Dolores d'Appel Chapel to the right of the church altar there is an exhibition of paintings of the landscapes of Israel. The contemporary Spanish painter Luis Raúra visits Israel almost every year, and likes to paint large naturalist landscape paintings. One can see  paintings of Jerusalem, the Sea of Galilee, Nazareth, and more in precise detail

In the courtyard of the basilica the dead were buried, as is customary in many churches in the world. But at the Church of Santa Maria there was also an area called "The Jewish converted's cemetery". Those Jews who were baptized by force were buried there, although they were always suspected of being disloyal Christians. The converted Jews were buried behind the church, next to the wall by the river. Today, there are no tombstones in the churchyard, but the cemetery's precincts are well known

There was also a Jewish cemetery in Costello. In the local museum there is a Hebrew gravestone that was on the grave of Rabbi David de Koliyura. According to his name, he came to Costello from the town of Coliorer, once in the province of Catalonia, and is now in France across the border. The museum also has a stone tablet from 1377 with the Hebrew inscription "Umpirios"

Researchers and students from Pennsylvania College in the US come every summer to conduct research in Castello and help local people uncover and translate archival documents about Jews and Judaism in Castello.  The most important discovery is the ancient Ketubah of David and Astrova, in which the town of Castello de Empuries is mentioned. It is displayed in the Girona museum of Jewish History. Every year in September, a colorful festival, "The Land of the Troubadour" takes place in Castello, where a parade of musicians and marchers dressed in traditional costumes from the Middle Ages takes place. Last summer parade they enacted a Jewish wedding based on this Ketubah

Hostalric

This is an old sleepy town with half of its houses built in the 18th-century. In the center of the town there is a high hill with a fortress that looks well into the distance. The ancient area is surrounded by a 14th-century wall with beautiful guard towers

Towers also remain in place elsewhere in the walls. We walk down the empty main street, imagining that on the stone sidewalks Crusaders rode their horses, in their distinctive dress. I feel as if we are part of a medieval Gothic painting

Only in recent years has the town of Hostalric been on the tourist map. For about ten years, the local council and the Ministry of Tourism invested most of their budget in renovating the fortress at the top of the hill, and on the roads leading to it. Only after the renovations were completed did they begin investing in advertising and public relations, opening a local tourist office. Since then, some 15,000 tourists have visited the town, but many more are now expected

The town is proud of its many festivals and parades. The marches are led by puppets of "The Three Giants," a symbol of this place based on figures that look like one of the towers. They are followed by the residents, dressed in medieval costumes

The site we are most interested to us is the "Relliguer Cave". Near the entrance to the church of Santa Maria there is a cave unofficially called "Cave of the Jews". What is the origin of the name? The director of the Tourism Bureau, Jordi Kant, does not know

We go with him into the cave. Walk down a narrow tunnel for 26 meters, twisting left and right. At its end we reach a small room, six meters (two stories) deep. The room is oval, and some type of benches are carved on its sides

To what purpose was the cave quarried?          i

The local people do not know. We might imagine that this is a cave used by 'Anusim' Jews (Marranos) as a secret place to pray and celebrate the Passover Seder nights. The depth and twists ensure that the lights and sounds of prayer and singing would not emerge, that their place of prayer would be safe

I sat on the stone bench in the cave, lost in my thoughts, and felt a chill. I do not know if it is a shiver from the cold in the cave, or from identifying with the difficulties of our forefathers who had so painstakingly guarded the Jewish heritage. This cave is a must-see for every Jew

OLOT

This is a small, relatively modern town, with the St Stava church at its center. Jews once lived there, but they were expelled in 1492. It interests us thanks to a small stone sign, displayed in one corner of a modest museum inside the church. The stone tablet is about 40 by 20 cm in size, and engraved on it are Hebrew words

This sign was discovered in the ruins of the synagogue that was in Olot, destroyed in an earthquake in 1457. It is clear that this is part of a larger outpost. This sign bears the Hebrew date 4969, which is 1209. The sign also mentions the town of Badresh. This town is known in Jewish history due to the "Book of Reconciliation" on the hidushim (novellae) of the Ri"f, written by Rabbi Meshulam Bar Moshe of Badresh (now called Beziers), about 200 km from Alot, where the sign is today. It is estimated that the plaque was written in honor of a rich Jew who emigrated from Badresh to Olot and helped finance the synagogue

The Jewish portion of this museum also features standard Jewish ritual objects such as candlesticks for Sabbath candles, menorahs, tiny Torah scrolls, and the like. They are not ancient, but seem to me like they were bought recently from some souvenir shop. They are likely displayed alongside the ancient sign, to show visitors what Judaism is

During the Middle Ages the Jewish quarter of Olot was near a bend of the river Fluvia. Archaeological excavations are underway there. I went there, but there's nothing yet to see at this point. The area is covered with modern residential buildings, and it is doubtful whether Jewish artifacts will ever be found there

Figueres

This is a beautiful town where the most important site is the Salvador Dali Museum. Dali was born and raised in Figueres, and his works were painted and sculpted here, as well as in his residential villa near the beach in Portlligat. Almost everyone recognizes the image of the melting clocks that is identified with Dali, but this unique style is only part of the richness of his works exhibited in the museum

The museum was a theater which the municipality provided to Dali. This museum was designed by Salvador Dali himself. He arrived there every day for the last four years of his life. At Dali's request, his coffin lies in the stage of the museum, and there is no text on his tombstone

Even in this museum we can find a Jewish related spot: on the third floor is a series of about 20 Dali paintings about Israel and Jewish history. There are paintings of Jews in the ghetto or in a Nazi extermination camp, and also of illegal immigrant ships (Ma’apilim) with the Hebrew inscription "Eliyahu Golomb

In one of the works he paints the declaration of the state of Israel by David Ben-Gurion. Many of the paintings on this floor also feature an Israeli flag. It warms the heart and makes us proud

All the paintings here were printed in only 250 copies, each numbered, and with an original certificate signed by Dali himself. Copy No. 1 was kept by Dali himself, and copy No. 2 granted to Ben-Gurion at their meeting in 1968

Tossa de Mar

In 1950, the Hollywood movie "Pandora and the Flying Dutchman" was shot in the small fishing village of Tossa de Mar, in the Costa Brava region. Since then the fishing town has become an active and vibrant tourist site. It is a holiday attraction with natural bays, stunning beaches and lots of hotels. The village has 6,000 residents, and another 50,000 tourists arrive every day during the summer season

The ancient area of the village is surrounded by a wall with observation towers. The wall surrounds the place in three directions. From the east, there is no need for a wall, because there is a natural cliff. We enter the old town through the "clock tower". From this point we continue up the alley to the lighthouse at the top of the hill, where we can enjoy panoramic views of the charming beaches

Tossa also has a link to Judaism. When the wave of anti-Semitism began in Europe in the 1930s, many painters and intellectuals left their places of residence and moved to live here in Tossa. Many of them were Jews, and the village was then nicknamed "the colony of Jewish artists". Among them were Marc Chagall, Matt Singer, Raphael Bennett, Julius Scheilin, other artists and people of note. Chagall called Tossa "the blue paradise", and that name is the town's logo to this day. Today there is no trace of the Jewish colony, because all Jews left at the outbreak of the civil war in 1936, and subsequently of World War II

In the building that was the mayor's home, the municipal museum was opened. Some works of the Jewish artists who lived here are displayed. Art experts point out that Tossa itself affected the style of these artists. In the paintings they painted in Tossa, we can see much more light and sun, compared to the dark and gloomy colors they painted when they were elsewhere in Europe. This tendency is also evident in Marc Chagall's painting "The Heavenly Violinist". In many of Chagall's works we can see a violin or a goat floating in the air through the window. The window frame that Chagall painted here in Tossa was blue, like the colors of the windows and doors in his day

One can see the painting "The Celestial Violinist" by Chagall (on the left), and next to it a Chagall signature with the inscription " Tossa – Blue Heaven"        i

Appropriate for a fishing village, there are many fish restaurants with a large selection of seafood. Some of them are unique traditional local dishes. For example, they have a unique dish where they sprinkle crumbs of chocolate and crumbs of chestnuts on a fish, which they fry or bake

All places highlighted in this article are within 100 kilometers or less than an hour away from each other. You can see all in one day, or this trip could take up to three days. I suggest taking a map, marking it, and planning the route. There is no kosher restaurant in the area, so one must bring sandwiches from the hotel in advance

 

Photos: Shifra Maor