Portugal

Lisbon was one of the most important Jewish centres in medieval Portugal. A 1307 memorial stone records the foundation of Lisbon's Great Synagogue. Following the forced conversion of Portugal's remaining Jews at the end of the fifteenth century, openly organized Jewish life disappeared for centuries. A community was re-established in the nineteenth century, and the Shaaré Tikvá Synagogue was inaugurated in 1904.

Porto had an established Jewish presence during the medieval period, traces of which survive in the city's Jewish heritage. Organized Jewish life was revived in the twentieth century, particularly through the efforts of Captain Artur Barros Basto. The Kadoorie Mekor Haim Synagogue became the principal institution of the modern Porto Jewish community.

Belmonte became an important centre of Jewish and crypto-Jewish life near the Spanish frontier. Its Jewish population increased substantially after Jews expelled from Spain in 1492 entered Portugal. Following the forced conversions in Portugal, families in Belmonte preserved elements of Jewish prayer, tradition and identity in secrecy for generations. An openly practicing community later re-emerged and today maintains the Bet Eliahu Synagogue.

Tomar supported a prosperous Jewish community during the fifteenth century. Its surviving synagogue was constructed in the mid-fifteenth century and is one of Portugal's most important surviving monuments of medieval Jewish life. The building now houses the Abraham Zacuto Portuguese-Hebrew Museum.

Évora was an important centre of medieval Jewish life in Portugal and contained a substantial Jewish quarter before the forced conversions at the end of the fifteenth century. During the sixteenth century the city also became closely associated with the Portuguese Inquisition and the persecution of New Christians suspected of secretly practicing Judaism.

Trancoso preserves extensive evidence of its medieval Jewish population, including the former Jewish quarter and surviving Hebrew and religious markings on historic buildings. The town later became associated with New Christian and crypto-Jewish history following the forced conversions of the late fifteenth century.

Guarda contained an important medieval Jewish community whose former Jewish quarter remains part of the city's historic landscape. Jewish residents participated in local commerce and urban life before the forced conversions at the end of the fifteenth century, after which New Christian families remained in the region.

Castelo de Vide preserves one of Portugal's best-known medieval Jewish quarters. The community expanded during the late medieval period, particularly as refugees crossed the nearby Spanish frontier. A building traditionally identified as the medieval synagogue preserves architectural evidence associated with Jewish worship and community life.

Faro was an important Jewish centre in southern Portugal during the late medieval period. In 1487 Samuel Gacon printed a Hebrew edition of the Pentateuch in Faro, one of the earliest books printed in Portugal. Jewish life later disappeared following the forced conversions, but a community was re-established in the Algarve during the modern period.