It all began in the 1st century AD, when Roman troops brutally suppressed a Jewish uprising in Palestine. The Jews, having survived a bloody massacre, were forced to be expelled from their historical homeland. They settled on the outskirts of the empire, including the Roman province of Spain. For more than a thousand years, the Jewish people thrived on the fertile land of the Iberian Peninsula. But all things come to an end. First came the pogroms, and then in 1492, the ruthless expulsion of all adherents of Judaism from Spain followed, by order of Queen Isabella the Catholic. And again, they were forced to flee…
However, almost one and a half thousand years is a considerable period. And the Jews, bearers of the ancient mystical teaching of "Kabbalah," left a deep mark on the Iberian Peninsula. One of these marks is the Synagogue of Santa Maria la Blanca (Sinagoga de Santa Maria La Blanca). In this contradictory name and the very history of the building, like in a mirror, all the complex vicissitudes of relations between peoples and religions forced to coexist on the same land are reflected.
The architecture of Santa Maria La Blanca intertwines three cultures. The building was constructed by Arab craftsmen for the Jews, and later became a Christian church.
“The largest and most beautiful synagogue in Spain” was erected in 1180, as evidenced by an inscription preserved on one of the ceiling beams. In 1250, the building burned down. This was a period of flourishing for the Jewish community of Toledo, so King Alfonso X of Castile, despite the papal bull, allowed the city’s Jews to restore the synagogue. Work began in 1260 under the direction of Joseph Ben Shoshan. Paradoxically, the “house of assembly” of the Jews was revived by Muslims. Therefore, features of the Mudéjar style are present in its appearance.
The interior space is divided into 5 naves by four rows of horseshoe-shaped arches. The molded geometric patterns on the walls and the filigree vegetal ornaments on the capitals of the octagonal columns amaze with their exquisite beauty. Although such decoration strongly resembles the mosques and palaces of Arab rulers, the depiction of the “Star of David” dispels all doubts about the purpose of this structure. Although there were nine other synagogues in Toledo, this one received the status of the Main Synagogue (Sinagoga Mayor) of the city.
A hundred years later, the situation of the Jews changed. In 1355, Catholics attacked the Jewish quarter in Toledo. And in 1391, Christians, influenced by the sermons of the monk Vicente Ferrer, carried out a pogrom in the synagogue.
But the vicissitudes of fate for this extraordinary building did not end there. In 1411, the Jewish Main Synagogue was converted into the Christian Church of Santa Maria La Blanca and handed over to the spiritual-knightly Order of Calatrava.
Thus appeared the second part of the current contradictory name “Synagogue of Santa Maria La Blanca.” In 1550, by order of Cardinal Siliceo, this church was given to a monastic community of “repentant public women.” From that era date the three chapels attached to the head of the temple and the preserved altar in the Plateresque style of the famous Berruguete school (14th century). Another 50 years later, Santa Maria La Blanca was closed and abandoned for a whole century. But the building was not to be lost! It was first used as a barracks and then turned into a warehouse. Finally, in the mid-19th century, the former temple of two religions was declared a Historical Monument of National Significance, and after the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), it was returned to the Catholic Church. Currently, the former Jewish and Christian temple, officially called the Synagogue of Santa Maria La Blanca, is under the care of a female monastic community.
Thirty-two octagonal pillars divide the hall of the former synagogue into five naves, which end in chapels in the Plateresque style. The dome of the main chapel rests on four pendentives decorated with images of gilded shells. Noteworthy are the horseshoe arches, calligraphic vegetal and geometric ornamentation on the walls and capitals of the columns, and the carved wooden ceiling.
Services are no longer held, but the doors are open to the public. Temporary exhibitions, “Jewish Culture Days,” and other events are periodically held.
Sources:
https://ispaniagid.ru/santa-maria-la-blanca-toledo/
https://www.2hispania.ru/toledo-sinagoga-santa-maria-la-blanca/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synagogue_of_Santa_Mar%C3%ADa_la_Blanca
