RASGO - Red de Juderías de España. Caminos de Sefarad

Arial view of the basilica of St. Mary´s. © Santi Font

Castelló dʼEmpúries reached the height of its splendour during the Middle Ages. In the 11th century it became the capital of the county of Empúries and the count settled there, thus becoming the judicial, administrative, political and economic centre of the whole lordly jurisdiction. It was to become one of the most prosperous cities in north-eastern Catalonia. Castelló's importance in the middle ages is borne out by its urban structure: the narrow streets and porticoed squares as well as the endless buildings such as the monumental basilica of St. Mary´s, better known as the Catedral del Empordà (Empordà Cathedral), Pont Vell (13th century), Casa Gran (15th century), the prison building and Cúria (14th century) which today has been converted into the Medieval History Museum and Llotja or Casa del Consell (Town Hall - 14th century) and, far more modern, the convents, the public washhouse and the recently consolidated Ecomuseum-Farinera, bear testimony to a wondrous past, making it one of the most beautiful municipalities in Empordà.

Calle Jueus (Jews street). Can Sanllehí. Rear façade of the old synagogue. © Manel Puig

As from the 12th century the town expanded beyond the walls in a south-south-westerly direction where the districts of Puig de l´Eramala and later Mercadal were set up. The latter was developed around Homes square which became the nerve centre of the town. The new Mercadal district was mainly settled by merchants and craftsmen. The whole area was hemmed in by a new wall which relieved the former fortification built around the Romanesque church of St. Mary´s, consecrated in 1064. Of the new wall the tower of the Gallarda Gate in the eastern sector and the tower of the Sant Domènec convent remain in the western sector.

In 1401 the county was subject to the jurisdiction of the Catalan-Aragonese crown. After the death of Pedro II without leaving a successor, the title of Count of Empúries was taken on by King Martín I the Human, thereby completing the independence regime which the county had had since the 10th century. From this time on, and throughout the modern era, the county went into a great economic and demographic crisis. Nevertheless, in the 18th century the draining of the former lake, the adaptation of the new land to sowing, the introduction of new crops and the disentailments helped to boost the expansion of agriculture which became the predominant economic sector until the second half of the 20th century, coinciding with the arrival of tourism.

The Castelló d´Empúries Jewish quarter, after that of Girona, was the most important one in the diocese. Its history is known thanks to the wealth of documentation which has been conserved which has allowed the identification and localisation of both synagogues, the cemeteries, the Callexpansion areas, the operation, composition and organisation of the aljama and the appointments of secretaries.

The original Jewish call of Castelló d´Empúries came about in the first half of the 13th century in the southeast of the settlement, around the district of Puig de l´Eramala where the first synagogue was built. It still retains the name of carrer dels Jueus (Jews street). There is scarcely any documentation regarding this synagogue, though there is data as from its disposal in the late 13th century and its recovery towards the middle of the 15th century. The building was left in disuse with the increase in the aljama population making it necessary to build a new synagogue nearer the nerve centre of the town in Puig Mercadal. At present two of the most emblematic stately homes of Castelló d´Empúries form part of the block where the first synagogue was located. Can Sanllehí and Can Cassanyes are situated to the north and west of the synagogue which may originate in the buildings of two of the most important, richest Jews in the town: Bernat Bussiges, a merchant and Cresques Bonafos Susau. The two buildings underwent much remodelling work in the 18th century. The synagogue building was also rehabilitated recently and little remains of what it was at the time.

The Els Aspres area alongside Rec del Molí where the old Jewish cemetery was located

In 1238, thanks to the issuing of a privilege granted by the Count of Empúries to the Jewish community of Castelló and of the county, it can be asserted that there was already a well-consolidated community. From this time on, a stage of prosperity and expansion began which conjectural, economic and demographic development of the town involved the expansion of the Jewish quarter to the Puig Mercadal district. The new call, as a prolongment of the original one, had a new synagogue. It has been possible to confirm its location on Peixeteries Velles street thanks to the notarial documentation conserved where the property's boundaries are defined. The oldest document attesting to the existence of the old synagogue dates back to 1281. Its surface area and environment have remained under the same conditions: the two adjoining courtyards have remained without any constructions. One is situated to the east with an access gate to Peixeteries Velles street and the other, situated to the north, in the centre of the block. There is a record of a street with colonnades which was added later to an adjoining villa located to the north of the synagogue via which there was access to this courtyard. At present, the building has been restored and converted into Hotel de la Moneda.

The most prosperous stage of the call pertains to the final decades of the 13th century and the start of the 14th when the community attained the highest rates of demographic growth, attaining 300 individuals. Concurrently with this time of prosperity, in 1321 the second synagogue in Peixeteries Velles street fell down owing to accidental causes. The building had to be rebuilt and expanded in line with the needs of the time. The building is still conserved today, having been converted into a private home known as can Vicenç Comas. As from the late 14th century the pressure on the Jewish community became very notable. To such an extent that in 1370 the majority of Jews were living in poverty. According to the complaint lodged by the secretaries of the aljama, the situation was brought about by the strong, abusive charges that the aljama and private individuals were obliged to pay in the form of census taxes and pensions.

Casa del Consejo (Town Hall). © Manel Puig

However, the sternest test for the Jewish communities was to come in 1391 when a series of attacks were perpetrated against the majority of the Jewish quarters in the peninsula; this time the one in Castelló was left unharmed thanks to the intervention of the Counts of d´Empúries. Many Jews in Girona and its collect took flight and decided to go to the call of Castelló d´Empúries as they regarded it as a safer haven under the protection of the Count's family.

In the final third of the 14th century the first Jewish converts appeared. However, it would not be until the first half of the 15th century that the mass conversions would start. The population of the Jewish aljama of Castelló d´Empúries had been reduced to ten families and on February 18th 1417 over one hundred Jews were forced to be christened at the dual baptismal font which still remains today at the basilica of St. Mary´s. A prominent member of the community who never renounced his Jewish faith was Perfet Bonseyor, a great scholar of the Talmud. He was elected by the aljama to attend the Disputation of Tortosa (1413-1414). He held the office of aljama secretary on nine occasions. In spite of everything and before his death in 1417, he saw his whole family christened. In 1420 the community sold the new synagogue building which was converted into a boarding house. Nevertheless, and despite the persecution and economic pressure it was subjected to, in 1442 the aljama reorganised and bought the former synagogue building on dels Jueus street to reuse it.

In addition to the synagogue, the Jewish community of Castelló also had its own cemetery which complied with all the teachings of Judaism. It was situated outside the wall in a high area known as Els Aspres. The fossar or former Jewish cemetery was located in the northeast of the town and limited to the east by the irrigation ditches of the water mills (Rec del Molí). It was used until the early years of the 14th century. At present, it is a privately owned estate. As from 1306 the new cemetery is documented for the first time. The Jewish community acquired a very extensive strip of land adjoining the former cemetery. It was located in the area called Rotacàs in the lower part of Els Aspres in relation to Rec del Molí which it faced to the west. The cemetery was used until 1492. At present there is privately owned farm for agricultural purposes and cattle rearing.

By contrast, as from the 15th century the converted Jews would be buried in a delimited area of the Christian cemetery situated inside Sagrera. This space adjoined the northern wall of the basilica's apse and took up part of the land where today the Santísimo chapel is located, built in 1724. The area has been known over the centuries as the converted Jews' cemetery. At present, part of the former necropolis is occupied by the Santísimo chapel and the other has been equipped as a pedestrian footpath and vantage point open to the public.

Converted Jews' cemetery. © Manel Puig

As regards the Jewish legacy conserved by the town of Castelló d´Empúries, worthy of special mention are the buildings of Curia-presó (1336) and Llotja or Casa del Consell (1393-94) where the Jews played a notable role as constructors. The medieval Curia-presó is a building in civil Gothic style which served the dual purpose of court and prison. The building currently houses the municipal Tourist office which is located on the ground floor of the building and the Cúria-Presó Medieval History Museum which occupies the rest. The museum is a collection which is open to the public and dedicated to local medieval history, highlighting the room dedicated to the Jewish past of Castelló d´Empúries. In said room you can visit a set of nine Jewish headstones from the former Jewish cemetery granted by private individuals to the Local Council. Along with this collection you can see a mezuzah, a scale model of the town in the 14th century and an audio-visual providing a historical approach to the municipality.

Another space related with the Jewish past can be found inside the basilica of St. Mary´s de Castelló d´Empúries. The temple was erected on the original Romanesque church consecrated in 1064 of which there remains little trace. As well as the baptismal font situated at the southern nave, there is also one of the best examples of Catalan Gothic sculpture from the second half of the 15th century, an alabaster retable at the Main Altar dedicated to the Virgin of the Candelera, the patron saint of the town. The work was designed as a stand-alone block with the same decoration on the front and side parts. The scenes of the Passion and the Crucifixion portray the figures of two Jewish rabbis alongside other human and heavenly figures. At one of the altars of the northern nave of the temple a reproduction can be seen of the Saint Michael retable. The original is conserved at the Art Museum of Girona. It is a work carried out in 1448 by Joan Antigó, Honorat Borrassà and Francesc Vergós, commissioned by the provosts of the San Miguel Brotherhood. It is formed by four panels: in the upper left-hand scene the figure of the Archangel Michael is portrayed, preventing Satan from possessing the lifeless body of Moses before the concerned presence of a group of four worthy Jews. Of particular note is the richness and sumptuousness of the attire and the garments of the four Jews. The Saint Michael retable is a magnificent pictorial example of flamenco-like Gothic and it constitutes one of the best artistic expressions of the Jewish community in the Catalan Middle Ages.