Synagogue (Valencia de Alcántara)
The synagogue in Valencia de Alcántara in the province of Cáceres of the Spanish autonomous region of Extremadura was probably built in the 14th or 15th century. The secular synagogue is located at the intersection of Calle Gasca and Calle Pocito , in the center of the Barrio judío-gótico , the Judería of Valencia de Alcántara. The name of the street, Calle Pocito, is reminiscent of a well that could have supplied the mikveh , which belonged to every synagogue, with the water necessary for the ritual ablutions.
history
After the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492, the synagogue was profaned and used as a slaughterhouse, as indicated by the inscription MATADERO on the vault of a door.
architecture
The construction of the building corresponds to the synagogues of the Sephardic Jews and is very similar to the synagogue in the Portuguese city of Tomar . The synagogue is built on a square floor plan, the four granite columns in the middle are connected by round arches and support the wooden ceiling. The four pillars could have served to delimit the Bima . The smooth shafts of the columns are crowned by rings and unadorned capitals with flat warheads .
On the east side, the rough rocky subsoil is still visible. Possibly this was supposed to tie in with the tradition of some synagogues, which - in memory of the destruction of the Temple of Solomon - left part of the wall unplastered.
The two original portals on the north side are now walled up.
Exposed rock
columns
inner space
literature
- Carmen Balesteros, Jorge de Oliveira: La Sinagoga de Valencia de Alcántara. Edited by Ayuntamiento de Valencia de Alcántara, 2nd edition, Valencia de Alcántara 2003.
Web links
- Ayuntamiento de Valencia de Alcántara Synagogue (accessed August 17, 2016)
Coordinates: 39 ° 24 ′ 52.2 " N , 7 ° 14 ′ 29.4" W.