bn Shushan Synagogue, Toledo, Spain
1977
Museum Collection
The synagogue was built in the early 13th century by Don Joseph ibn Shushan. It served as Toledo’s main synagogue until the 1391 riots (the 1391 Edicts), in which many of the city’s Jews were slaughtered or forced to convert. During the Inquisition, many Spanish synagogues were seized and converted into churches, including the ibn Shushan synagogue. In 1411, Vicente Ferrer renamed it Santa Maria la Blanca (St Mary the White). Today the synagogue is a museum
Must Know
During the Inquisition, many Spanish synagogues were seized and converted into churches, including the Ibn Shushan synagogue which was turned into a church in 1405. In 2013 the Jewish community of Toledo became the owner and custodian of the building after a request to the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Toledo, Braulio Rodrigues Plaza.
The Jewish community of Toledo is the most ancient in the Iberian Peninsula. The Jews of Toledo were expelled alongside other Jews from Span in 1492 yet Jewish artefacts and remnants can still be seen in Toledo due to preservation efforts.
