Market Synagogue in Seville
Object Detail
Building Date
13th century
Synagogue active dates
until 1391
Reconstruction Dates
late seveteenth and early eighteenth centuries
Architect/ Maker
Unknown (Unknown)
Style
Unknown|
Material/Technique
Construction Material
Stone
Summary and Remarks
Suggested Reconsdivuction
History/Provenance
The building was built as a mosque and served as a mosque from the 11th century until the Christian reconquest of the city in 1248.
The building was repurposed as a synagogue. After the massacre and the conversion of Jews in 1391, the synagogue was converted into a church Santa María la Blanca.
The building was partly rebuilt in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.
In 2023-2024, during the restoration works, the main altarpiece (constructed in 1657-1660) was removed and the remnants of the Torah ark were revealed. The Torah ark will be concealed after the completion of the restoration.
Condition
Present Usage
Church
Present Usage Details
Historical significance: Event/Period
Historical significance: Collective Memory/Folklore
Historical significance: Person
Architectural Significance: Style
Architectural Significance: Artistic Decoration
Urban significance
Significance Rating
2 (Regional)
Condition of Building Fabric
B (Fair)
Bibliography
Assis, Yom-Tov, "Synagogues in Medieval Spain", Jewish Art 18 (1992): 7-29
Ben Dov, Meir. Batei kneset bi-sefarad (Jerusalem, 1989)
Markman, Sydney David. Jewish Remnants in Spain: Wanderings in a Lost World (Meza, Arizona, 2003), pp. 128-132.
"Spain: Remains of the medieval synagogue discovered during restoration of the main altarpiece in the Santa Maria la Blanca church in Seville,"
Jewish Heritage Europe, https://jewish-heritage-europe.eu/2024/05/14/spain-seville/.
Short Name
Full Name
Volume
Page
Biography
Photograph Copyright
Anual (Own work) [GFDL or CC BY 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Photographer
Unknown
Photograph Date
2008
Remarks
0 Coordinates: 37.386436, -5.987372