Barcelona El Call (Jewish Quarter)

Records indicate that Jewish families started moving to Roman Barcino as early as the AD second century. The Jewish quarter sprang to life near the center of town, between present-day Pl. St. Jaume, C. Ferran, C. Banys Nous, and the Església Santa Maria del Pi. Although today there is little indicating its Jewish heritage, for centuries El Call was the most vibrant center of intellectual and financial activity in all of Barcelona; Jews even received a certain amount of governmental support and protection in return for their substantial economic and cultural contributions to the city.

Anti-Semitism spread throughout Europe in the 13th century, however, and Spain was no exception. In 1243, Jaume I ordered the complete isolation of the Jewish quarter from the rest of the city, and he forced all Jews to wear identifying red-and-yellow buttons. Anti-Semitism increased as citizens looked for scapegoats for the plagues and poverty of the 14th century, and in 1348, hundreds of Jews were blamed for the Black Death and tortured mercilessly until they “confessed” their crimes. In 1391, as harassment spread throughout Spain, a riot ended in the murder of nearly 1000 Jews in Barcelona’s Call. By 1401, every single synagogue and Jewish cemetery was demolished, making the forced conversion law of 1492 an easy next step (see Catalan Jews). To add insult to injury, Jewish tombstones were pilfered to construct other buildings around that time. If you keep an eye out you may be able to spot some still-discernable Hebrew inscriptions on some of the old, 14th-century walls in Barri Gòtic, for example at Pl. de Sant Iu, above and to left of the gas lamp on the wall opposite the Museu Frederico Marès.

One Jewish synagogue was turned into a church, the Església de Sant Jaume (C. Ferran, 28) which is still in use today. Some of the only remaining tangible evidence of Jewish inhabitants in El Call is the ancient Hebrew plaque in tiny C. Marlet as well as at the Associació Call de Barcelona, which features a collection of relics and ruins from an old synagogue. To get there, take C. Call from Pl. St. Jaume and turn right onto C. Sant Domènech de Call and then left onto C. Marlet. The plaque is at the end of the block and the museum is at the beginning.

One of the best-known alleys in El Call has nothing to do with Jewish history: to the left off the end of C. Sant Domènech de Call (coming from C. Call) is the Baixada de Santa Eulalia, which is said to be the place where the city’s patron saint was tortured to death, joining the ranks of Christian martyrs (see Església Catedral de la Santa Creu,. On the wall at the start of the street, a plaque written by Catalan poet Jacint Verdaguer commemorates the legend. (Liceu, L3. Associació Call de Barcelona C. Marlet: ☎933 17 07 90; www.calldebarcelona.org. Open M-F 10:30am-2:30pm and 4-7pm, Sa-Su 10:30am-3pm. Tour €2.)