El Call: The Whispering Stones of the Medieval Jewish Quarter
Why is it significant?
Turn into the narrow, winding passageway of Carrer de Marlet in the heart of El Call, Barcelona's medieval Jewish Quarter. The Hebrew word kahal, meaning community, gave this district its Catalan name.
Key Facts
| Place | El Call: The Whispering Stones of the Medieval Jewish Quarter |
|---|---|
| Address | Carrer de Marlet 1, 08002 Barcelona |
| Geo Coordinates | 41.38310, 2.17510 |
| Part of Walk | Barcelona Gothic & Seaside: Roman Walls, Picasso's Youth, and the Old Port |
| Generated | Generated |
Turn into the narrow, winding passageway of Carrer de Marlet in the heart of El Call, Barcelona's medieval Jewish Quarter. The Hebrew word kahal, meaning community, gave this district its Catalan name. In the thirteenth century, this dense enclave of stone houses was one of the great intellectual capitals of the Sephardic world, home to renowned physicians, philosophers, and kabbalists like Rabbi Solomon ben Adret.
Look closely at the corner stone embedded in the wall of Carrer de Marlet: you can see an ancient Hebrew funerary inscription from the thirteenth century honoring a charitable elder named Rabbi Samuel ha-Sardi, integrated into the brickwork when the cemetery on Montjuïc was dismantled.
On Carrer de Sant Domènec del Call stands the Sinagoga Major, considered one of the oldest synagogues in Europe, with Roman foundations dating to the third century. In August thirteen ninety-one, religious fanaticism culminated in a devastating pogrom that decimated the community, forcing survivors into conversion or exile.
Walk south toward the political crossroads of Plaça Sant Jaume.