BelmontePortugal Jewish History of Portugal Hidden in Serra da Estrela south plain slope, Belmonte is perhaps the best known place of the Jewish presence in Portugal. This community has kept the Jewish culture and traditions alive since the beginning of the Inquisition until our time. Passionate […]
Belmonte
Belmonte Portugal
Jewish History of Portugal
Hidden in Serra da Estrela south plain slope, Belmonte is perhaps the best known place of the Jewish presence in Portugal. This community has kept the Jewish culture and traditions alive since the beginning of the Inquisition until our time.
Passionate Tours of Portugal, with a passionate team of expert private guides.
The Jewish History of Belmonte
First records show, a Jewish presence in Belmonte at the end of the XIII century, and it is assumed that the first synagogue dates back to 1297. During the three centuries of Inquisition in Portugal, the Jews of Belmonte kept their community closed off, and Jewish ways, as well as basic rituals, were passed down generation to generation, by the women who bared the role and responsibility of keeping Jewish heritage alive.
Belmonte
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It was only in 1989 the Sephardic Jews of Belmonte, were free to practice their ways openly, and this marked the begging of the process they called “the return”, officially founding the Jewish Community of Belmonte. The current synagogue, Bet Eliahu, was built in 1996 in the place where the old Jewish quarters once were. The Belmonte Jewish Museum is standing testimony of the perseverance of the Crypto-Jews and allow us to know their history, their rituals, their ways and their resilience for the past 500 years.