The traces of Jewish culture in Jaén
To understand Jaén (its traditions, its culture, and its citizens) one must know its past. That past which tells of the 12 centuries of Jewish presence in Jaén. Let's take a walk through the Jewish quarter of Jaén, which was one of the most important during the period of the Caliphate of Cordoba.
👉Let’s start from Ibn Shaprut House
A key figure who cannot be forgotten in Jaén. A poet, doctor, defender of the Jewish communities all over the Mediterranean, from Babylonia or Russia to Italy or France. One of the great intellectuals of the Caliphate of Cordoba and a point of reference for all the Jews of the world in the 10th century. He was called prince of the Jews. His family was one of the most important in Medieval Spain. Shaprut was born in Jaén in 910 or 915 and died in the city of Córdoba in 975.
The house has a Star of David on its brick facade.
Monument to Ibn Shaprut was raised in Jaén in celebration of his 1100th anniversary.
👉Orphans' square (Plaza de los Huérfanos)
Plaza de Los Huérfanos is where a large (Jewish seven-branched candelabrum) stands, a monument to the Jews expelled from Spain in the Middle Ages. On this monument, there is an inscription in Spanish and Judeo-Spanish saying “The traces of those who walked together can never be erased.”
📷 Watch Plaza de los Huérfanos video walk
Likewise, in this same square, there is a bridge over the archeological remains of the Baeza Gate, which was the link between the Jewish quarter of Jaén and the outside of the city. The bridge symbolizes a link between different cultures that once lived together.
St Andrew's Church (La iglesia de San Andrés)
The Church of St. Andrew seems to have been a synagogue. The very sobriety of the façade seems to evoke the medieval regulations that obliged the Jews to make their synagogues look more sober than the rest of the churches in the town.
👉Streets
The neighborhood is composed of a network of narrow streets and steep slopes…
