Judería de Córdoba

Calle de la judería de Córdoba

The Judería de Córdoba, ‘the Jewish Quarter of Córdoba’, is the area of the Spanish city of Córdoba in which the Jews lived between the 10th and 15th centuries. It is located in the Historic centre of Córdoba, northeast of the Mezquita Catedral (the Mosque-Cathedral), in the area of the following streets: Deanes, Manríquez, Tomás Conde, Judíos, Almanzor and Romero.

In addition to the Sinagoga (Synagogue), you can see the Cathedral, the Zoco Municipal (Zoco Municipal Market) and the Museo Taurino (Bull-fighting Museum), among others. It is part of the historic centre of Córdoba which was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1994.

Calle de la judería de Córdoba (Jewish Quarter of Córdoba Street)

Maimónides square.

Córdoba went through a period when Christians, Jews, and Muslims lived together, albeit while the non-Muslim population was subjugated to the jizya tax and Jews had their own court system. Walking through the Jewish Quarter, along the Calle de los Judíos (Jewish Street), visitors can now find a magnificent bronze statue dedicated to Maimonides, the great Jewish philosopher, Halakhist, rabbi, and physician from Córdoba.

During this period, most Jews lived under the rule of Islam. During the four years of Umayyad hegemony, Muslims’ cultural, artistic, and commercial activities turned Al-Ándalus (Muslim Spain) into the most cultured region in Europe. Historians talk of Córdoba with admiration; the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate, turned into a cultural centre with its lakes and parks, palaces, and mosques. The royal court attracted and exercised its patronage over poets, philosophers, writers, and scientists. During the 10th century, Córdoba was the Western world's largest economic and cultural centre.

In 756, the Umayyad Abd-al-Rahman I turned Córdoba into the capital of Muslim Spain; during the following 250 years, it was a large commercial and intellectual center. In 929, Abd-ar-Rahman III proclaimed the caliphate, and the city grew to rival contemporary Damascus and Baghdad. From the 11th century, due to the disintegration of Muslim power in Spain, part of the cultural success of Córdoba was lost. In the 12th century, the actions of philosophers Averroes and Maimonides stood out. In 1236, Fernando III of Castile took the city and integrated it into the Kingdom of Castile.

Places of interest

Statue of Maimonides in Tiberias Square

• Córdoba Synagogue, built in 1315 by Isaac Moheb.
• The Chapel of St. Bartholomew, built in 1399 to repopulate the neighborhood due to the anti-Jewish revolts.
• The Municipal Souk, a craft market located in a 15th century house.
• The Almodóvar Gate was part of the walls and was the limit of the Jewish quarter.
• In Tiberias Square is the statue of Maimonides, a Jewish philosopher born in Córdoba.
• The Andalusian House and the Alchemy Museum.
• The House of Sefarad, a museum dedicated to Jewish culture and the synagogue.
• The Municipal Bullfighting Museum.
• The House of the Pavas, built in 1597 by Juan Sigler de Espinosa.

See also

• Historic Centre of Córdoba
• Córdoba Synagogue