Jewish Heritage Tour of Lisbon

Tour highlights

Alfama district

The neighborhood of Alfama is a labyrinth of narrow streets and winding alleys. It is the oldest quarter of the city and the place where a small Jewish quarter was located in the 14th century. It is also the birthplace of Fado, the typical song of Lisbon, classified as Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Saint Dominic’s church

The 13th century-old Saint Dominic’s church was the first Dominican church of Lisbon. For centuries it was considered the most important church in Lisbon where beautiful royal weddings and christenings, were held. But it was also the site of the Easter Slaughter, a three-day massacre, in 1506, during which 2.000 people accused of being Jews, were persecuted, tortured, and killed. After this episode, the church has been destroyed on several occasions by earthquakes and a brutal fire in 1959. Its impressive interior decorated in gilded woodcarvings and valuable paintings was destroyed. It reopened in 1994 and the marks of the fire were left exposed on the church walls giving it a unique and fascinating atmosphere. Today, there’s a monument and a mural in the square outside the church, inaugurated in 2008, that reads “Lisbon, the City of Tolerance” in 34 languages recalling the terrible episode of 1506 and paying a tribute to the Jewish victims.

Shaaré Tikva Synagogue

Judaism in Portugal changed at the beginning of the 19th century, when the Sephardi Jews from Morocco and Gibraltar, mostly merchants, started to migrate to Lisbon. During the 19th century, the Jewish community of Lisbon had no formal synagogue and had to celebrate their religious rites in private houses. When the construction of the Lisbon’s Synagogue began its main facade had to face an inner courtyard because the Portuguese law at the time forbade non-Catholic temples from facing the street. Shaaré Tikvah Synagogue (Gates of Hope) was finally opened in 1904 and is still used today.