The Synagogue of Santa María la Blanca () or Ibn Shoshan Synagogue is a museum and former synagogue in

Toledo, Spain Toledo ( , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, capital of the province of Toledo and the ''de jure'' seat of the government and parliament of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha. Toledo was declare ...

. Erected in the late twelfth or early thirteenth century, it is disputably considered the oldest synagogue building in Europe still standing. The building was converted to a Catholic church in the early 15th century. The synagogue is located in the former Jewish quarter of the city, between the

Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes The Monastery of San Juan de los Reyes (English: Monastery of Saint John of the Monarchs) is an Isabelline style Franciscan monastery in Toledo, in Castile-La Mancha, Spain, built by the Catholic Monarchs (1477–1504). A monument to celebrat ...

and the

Synagogue of El Transito A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

. It is one of three preserved synagogues constructed by Jews in a

Mudéjar Mudéjar ( , also , , ca, mudèjar , ; from ar, مدجن, mudajjan, subjugated; tamed; domesticated) refers to the group of Muslims who remained in Iberia in the late medieval period despite the Christian reconquest. It is also a term for ...

Moorish The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or se ...

style under the rule of the Christian

Kingdom of Castile The Kingdom of Castile (; es, Reino de Castilla, la, Regnum Castellae) was a large and powerful state on the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region. It began in the 9th centu ...

History

005 Toledo - Inneres der Synagoge Santa Maria la Blanca

Origins

The exact origins and original specifications of the synagogue prove difficult to place. Evidence points toward a construction date sometime in the late twelfth century or early thirteenth century CE. Supporting evidence for this dating is the structure's architectural style, which is close to that of

Almohad The Almohad Caliphate (; ar, خِلَافَةُ ٱلْمُوَحِّدِينَ or or from ar, ٱلْمُوَحِّدُونَ, translit=al-Muwaḥḥidūn, lit=those who profess the Tawhid, unity of God) was a North African Berbers, Berber M ...

monuments of the twelfth century, such as the

Tinmal Mosque The Tinmal Mosque or Great Mosque of Tinmal (also spelled Tinmel or Tin Mal; ) is a 12th-century mosque located in the village of Tinmel in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco. Although no longer operating as a mosque today, its remains are prese ...

(1149) and

Kutubiyya mosque The Kutubiyya Mosque ( ; Berber: ⵜⵉⵎⵣⴳⵉⴷⴰ ⵏ ⵍⴽⵓⵜⵓⴱⵉⵢⵢⴰ, french: Mosquée Koutoubia) or Koutoubia Mosque is the largest mosque in Marrakesh, Morocco. The mosque's name is also variably rendered as Jami' al-K ...

(1147). One commonly accepted opinion is that it was erected sometime around 1205, as documents from the time mention a "new", great synagogue located in Toledo. Another theory arises from a wooden tablet found in the area that describes a new structure, saying, "Its ruins were raised up in the year 4940" E 1180 If this inscription indeed refers to the Synagogue of Santa María la Blanca, then the synagogue may in fact be a reconstruction of an existing building or a new building located on the same plot as a demolished one. One hypothesis that has been raised to explain the synagogue's layout is that may have been taken from a preexisting mosque located on the same site. Another former synagogue building in Segovia (destroyed after a fire in 1899) had a very similar layout, which suggests that more synagogues of this type may have once existed in the region. Some historians, such as

Leopoldo Torres Balbás Leopoldo Torres Balbás (23 May 1888, in Madrid – 21 November 1960, in Madrid) was a Spanish scholar, architect, and restorer. He was an important figure in the early 20th century conservation and restoration of monuments. Much of his work focused ...

, note similarities between the plaster work in the aisles of Santa María la Blanca and the convent Las Huelgas de Burgos, which is of a later date, around 1275. According to

Carol Herselle Krinsky Carol Herselle Krinsky (born 1937 Brooklyn, New York) is an American architectural historian. She graduated from Erasmus Hall High School, studied at Smith College (1957 BA) and New York University, (Ph.D. 1965). Krinsky is a professor of twentiet ...

, however, the scale and proportion of the ornamentation, the blank canvas against which the ornamentation is placed, as well as the way in which light is used in the space all correspond more closely with the twelfth-century mosques and thus with an earlier construction date. It is also somewhat unclear who might be the patron of the original synagogue, although there is some evidence for Joseph ben Meir ben Shoshan, or Yusef Abenxuxen, as the original patron. Joseph was the son of a

finance minister A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

to King

Alfonso VIII of Castile Alfonso VIII (11 November 11555 October 1214), called the Noble (''El Noble'') or the one of Las Navas (''el de las Navas''), was King of Castile from 1158 to his death and King of Toledo. After having suffered a great defeat with his own army at ...

and, upon his death in 1205, his epitaph mentions his having built a synagogue. Some theories suggest Joseph rebuilt the synagogue after a

pogrom A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russia ...

against Jews in Toledo. This may be the cause for the building's irregular floor plan and again points to a late-twelfth-century construction.

Conversion to church

Sinagoga Santa María la Blanca, Toledo (6158249052)

As a result of the

pogroms of 1391 The Massacre of 1391, also known as the pogroms of 1391, was a display of antisemitism and violence against Jews in Spain. It was one of the Middle Ages' worst antisemitic outbreaks; Jews were ultimately given the choice of converting or leaving ...

and the anti-Jewish preaching of Vicente Ferrer, the synagogue was sacked and then appropriated by the Catholic church. It was officially consecrated as a church in the early 15th century, though sources vary in stating the exact year: some cite 1401, 1405, 1410, or 1411. The church was given to the

Order of Calatrava The Order of Calatrava ( es, Orden de Calatrava, pt, Ordem de Calatrava) was one of the four Spanish military orders and the first military order founded in Castile, but the second to receive papal approval. The papal bull confirming the Orde ...

. Its present name, ''Santa Maria la Blanca'' ('Saint Mary the White') dates from this time and comes from an effigy of

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

that was kept inside. Between 1550 and 1556 three small

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

s were added to the back of the building to serve as chapels, still visible today. They are designed in a

Renaissance style Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Ancient Greece, ancient Greek and ...

and are attributed to

Alonso de Covarrubias Alonso de Covarrubias ( Torrijos, Toledo 1488–1570) was a Spanish architect and sculptor of the Renaissance, active mainly in Toledo. Works Covarrubias' works include: His first work was associated with Antón Egas and Juan Guas, in a style t ...

. The building was later used as a military

barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

, a warehouse, and a dancehall. The building was eventually declared a national memorial site and restored in 1856. The government restored Santa María la Blanca to the care of the archdiocese through a local parish in 1929. Today it is a museum and tourist attraction.

Architecture

Style

The synagogue is a

construction, created by Moorish architects for non-Islamic purposes. But it can also be considered one of the finest example of

architecture because of its construction elements and style. The plain white interior walls as well as the use of

brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

and of pillars instead of

columns A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

are characteristics of Almohad architecture. There are also nuances in its architectural classification, because although it was constructed as a synagogue, its

hypostyle In architecture, a hypostyle () hall has a roof which is supported by columns. Etymology The term ''hypostyle'' comes from the ancient Greek ὑπόστυλος ''hypóstȳlos'' meaning "under columns" (where ὑπό ''hypó'' means below or un ...

room and the lack of a women's gallery make it closer in character to a

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

. Though it does not have a women's gallery today, an early twentieth century architect suggested that it did at one time have a one.

Design

RoyLindmanSantaMarialaBlancaSynagogue 002

The Synagogue of Santa María la Blanca was wholly unusual in both plan and elevation. The floor plan is an irregular quadrilateral divided into five aisles, with the central nave aisle slightly larger than the remaining four. The space runs between 26 and 28 meters long and between 19 and 23 meters wide. The interior features a series of arcades supported on a network of twenty-four octagonal

piers Piers may refer to: * Pier, a raised structure over a body of water * Pier (architecture), an architectural support * Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name) * Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...

and eight engaged piers. These octagonal supports line the central aisle of the synagogue and support the large arcade of

horseshoe arch The horseshoe arch (; Spanish: "arco de herradura"), also called the Moorish arch and the keyhole arch, is an emblematic arch of Islamic architecture, especially Moorish architecture. Horseshoe arches can take rounded, pointed or lobed form. His ...

es above. The arches rest on intricately detailed capitals with finely carved pinecones and other vegetal imagery. These capitals are

in style and are derived from classical,

Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to: *Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible: **First Epistle to the Corinthians **Second Epistle to the Corinthians **Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox) *A demonym relating to ...

antecedents as well as

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

concepts. The focal point of the synagogue is the scallop-shell-topped arch at the center of the building. This was the location of the

Torah ark A Torah ark (also known as the ''Heikhal'', or the ''Aron Kodesh'') refers to an ornamental chamber in the synagogue that houses the Torah scrolls. History The ark, also known as the ''ark of law'', or in Hebrew the ''Aron Kodesh'' or ''aron ha- ...

. In many synagogues found throughout the Jewish Diaspora and what is now Israel, the scallop shell motif is a marker for the location where a portable ark should be placed. Evidence from Catholic altarpieces depicts the ark as a tall, movable structure that would fit in this particular niche. It is torpedo shaped, much like a traditional Sephardic Torah scroll case. The building is surrounded by a courtyard. This courtyard served as a place for the people to congregate before and after prayer services and also held the different communal institutions. The Rabbi's residence, a ritual bath, a study hall, and other things the community may have invested in were all built in this courtyard to give the Jewish community a central place for care of their spiritual needs. File:RoyLindmanSantaMarialaBlancaSynagogue 003.jpg, Ceiling and upper walls of the arches File:RoyLindmanSantaMarialaBlancaSynagogue 004.jpg, A scallop motif in one of the Renaissance apses File:RoyLindmanSantaMarialaBlancaToledo 004.jpg, Floor mosaic

Request for return to Judaism

In 2013 the Jewish community of Toledo asked the Roman Catholic

Archbishop of Toledo This is a list of Bishops and Archbishops of Toledo ( la, Archidioecesis Metropolitae Toletana).

, Braulio Rodríguez Plaza, to transfer ownership and custodianship of the building to them. The archbishop met twice with Isaac Querub, president of Spain's Federation of Jewish Communities, who said that there was, no Jewish community in Toledo today but that the federation was not looking to reclaim Santa María la Blanca as a place of worship but a "symbolic gesture".Jones, Sam. "Call to return former Toledo synagogue to Jewish community", ''The Guardian'', March 8, 2017
/ref> There is no judicial recourse because the modern Jewish community are not direct descendants of the original owners. The building, the third most visited historic monument in Toledo, is presently a museum and is not used for any religious ceremonies. Since 2013, the archdiocese has spent almost €800,000 (£685,000) on conserving the building.

Notes

External links

Description of the Synagogue Santa María la Blanca in toledomonumental.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Maria La Blanca Buildings and structures completed in 1180 Almohad architecture Jews and Judaism in Toledo, Spain Synagogues in Spain Maria Blanca Conversion of non-Christian religious buildings and structures into churches Former synagogues 12th-century synagogues Mudéjar architecture in Castilla–La Mancha Museums in Toledo, Spain Religious museums in Spain Sephardi synagogues Sephardi Jewish culture in Europe