History o porto_jewish_community_until_the_beginning_of_the_20th_century
1. History of the OPorto Jewish Community until the beginning of
the 20th century
2. Introduction
Even today the Jewish mark is
reflected on the city of Oporto. It is
reflected on the collective spirit of
the people of Oporto and on the
material traces that have survived to
the present day. However, they are
not many. The prohibition of Judaism
in Portugal, at the end of the 15th
century, occurred at the same time
as the destruction or the deletion of
virtually everything connected to the
Jewish people - synagogues,
symbols, books, all sort of objects.
The history of the Jewish community in Oporto intertwines with the history of the city
itself. Oporto has never been a stage of fights, massacres and pogroms addressed at the
Jews and, instead, these have always coexisted harmoniously with the Christian majority
in the squares, streets and alleys of a city with a strong mercantile and maritime profile,
joining cultures, vocations, skills and ways of living.
Morro da Sé (Cathedral Mount), where the first
Jewish Quarter of Oporto was located
3. Presence of Jews
in Oporto date in
12th century
The earliest documentary references
which have endured to the present are
dated from the 12th century. There was a
synagogue in the heart of the primitive
city of Oporto, within Cerca Velha (Old
Wall) or Muralha Primitiva (Primitive
Wall) in Morro da Pena Ventosa (Pena
Ventosa Hill) or Morro da Sé (Cathedral
Hill). It was located in Rua da Sinagoga
(Synagogue Street), former Rua das Aldas
(Aldas Street) and current Rua de
Sant'Ana (Saint Ana Street)-(Point 1 on
the Map). At that time, to reside in the
village, the Jews needed an authorisation
issued by the Bishop of Porto.
Locations on the map
Rua de Sant’Ana (Saint Ana Street)
4. Along with the city development
also the Jewish community was
spreading towards the Ribeira
(Riverbank), in an area ranging
from Travessa de S. Sebastião (St.
Sebastian Lane) to Rua da
Banharia (Sheath Workshop
Street) and to Rua dos
Mercadores (Merchants Street) –
(point 2 on the Map)- (place
where the Old Jewish Quarter
was located) and from this one to
Praça da Ribeira (Riverbank
Square).
The Jewish Quarters of the city- Old
Jewish Quarter
c
Rua da Bainharia
(Sheath Workshop Street)
Rua dos Mercadores
(Merchants Street)
Locations on the map
5. The richest and most socially influent inhabitants settled precisely in Praça da Ribeira
(Riverbank Square)- (point 3 on the map)- and in the streets along the river, centre of an
intense mercantile and social activity.
Importance of the Jews to the city's
economy
c Ribeira (River Bank)
Working and living side
by side with Catholics,
and there is no news of
tension for religious
matters, the Jews
developed their
business, in particular in
the fields of trade and
crafts.
Locations on the map
6. There are records of the existence of
another synagogue, located in Rua da
Munhata (Munhata Street), or Minhota
(native from Minho), current Rua do
Comério do Porto (Oporto Commerce
Street)-(point 4 on the map). It was a
domestic house of prayer, which operated
at a Jewish sailor’s shop. Everything
indicates that the so-called Judiaria de
Baixo (the Lower Jewish Quarter) would be
located in the area, extended from Largo
de S. Domingos to Miragaia.
The Jewish Quarters of the city - Lower
Jewish Quarter
c Locations on the map
Rua do Comércio do Porto-
(Commerce Street)
7. Meanwhile, Cabido do Porto (Oporto Chapter) prepared the lease of lands for the
construction of what would be called the Jewish Quarter of Monchique, where there is still
today, some toponymy associated with the Jewish people, namely: Rua, Escadas or Pátio
Monte dos Judeus (Street, Steps or Hill of the Jews Square), in the current area of the
Bandeirinha (Little Flag) - (Point 11 on the map).
In this Jewish Quarter was the synagogue, a house of prayer, of study and of assembly. It was
its most important institution.
The Jewish Quarters of the city – Jewish
Quarter of Monchique
c
Morro de Monchique ou
Monte dos Judeus
(Hill of the Jews Square)
Locations on the map
8. The existence of this synagogue is witnessed in a granitic epigraph, which has survived
until our days and whose inscription can be translated as follows:
The Jewish Quarters of the city – Jewish
Quarter of Monchique
c
«1. Someone might say: why was such house of repute not guarded inside a wall?
2. But he well knows I have an acquaintance who is recognized by the gentlehood.
3. It is he who guards me, as he declares with no doubt whatsoever: I am a wall.
4. The greatest among the Jews, the strongest of the heroes, and as leaders stand up there he stands.
5. Benefactor of his people, the servant of God in his integrity, he has built a house to his name in carved stones.
6. For the King he is second, at the head he is controlled by its grandeur and in the presence of Kings he rises.
7. He is Rabbi Don Yehudah ben Maner, light of Judah and in charge of authority.
8. By order of the Rabbi, he, Don Joseph ibn Arieh, shall live in charge and as leader to the task».
Locations on the map
9. Rather near the referred Monchique synagogue there might have existed a Jewish
cemetery, probably located in the terraces of the Municipal Garden of the Horto das
Virtudes (Virtues Garden Centre)- (Point 7 on the map). The existence of a watercourse,
the Rio Frio (Cold River), which passes through the Garden Centre, supplying the Fonte
das Virtudes (Virtues Fountain), then flowing into the River Douro, may have been a
logistical support for Jewish funerals, due to the religious obligation to wash the bodies
of the deceased before the burial, a purifying ritual that, in the Hebrew language, is
called Tahara.
Jewish cemetery
c
Jardim Municipal do Horto das Virtudes
(Virtues Garden Centre)
Locations on the map
10. The Jewish Quarters of the city– Jewish
Quarter of Olival
At the end of the 14th century, the most famous Jewish Quarter of Oporto was
created: the Jewish Quarter of Olival, with approximately 1.8 hectares.
It is King D. João I who, in 1386, during his stay in the city, determines the
concentration of all Jews in one place of the city, ordering the Municipal Chamber to
indicate the Jews a place, within the walls, where they could build their Jewish
Quarter. Although the King had the intention of protecting «his Jews» - as he called
them - from possible attacks resulting from the wars with the Kingdom of Castile, the
action takes place in a European context associated to the creation of ghettos for the
Jewish people.
Morro da Vitória
(Victory Mount)
c Locations on the map
11. The Jewish Quarters of the city– Jewish
Quarter of Olival
The Municipal Chamber delivered, through leasing, the Campo do
Olival (Olive Field) to the then existing Jewish community of Oporto
and soon began the building of the New Jewish Quarter, a walled
area, from where the Jews could not leave, nor the Christians enter at
night (to the ring of the "bell to run"). The Jewish settlement
boundaries were demarcated by high walls, houses with no way out
to the exterior of the Jewish Quarter and by two massive iron doors
adorned with Hebrew allegories, one by the Porta do Olival (Olive
Field Entrance) (to the North) and another in the current Escadas da
Vitória (Steps of Victory)- (point 6 on the map)-, designated, in the
past, by Escadas da Esnoga (the Steps of the Synagogue) (to the
South).
Rua da Vitória
(Victory Street)
Rua e Escadas da Vitória (Antigas
Escadas da Esnoga – Sinagoga)
(Synagogue/ Victory steps)
c Locations on the map
12. The Edict of Expulsion
On December 5 1496, The Edict of Expulsion of
the Jews from Portugal was signed by King D.
Manuel I.
D. Manuel’s edict did not have the same effects
on Oporto as it had on other latitudes. There was
no global stampede, nor was violence exerted on
the Jews, and these, in general, by force of
circumstances, accepted their conversion to
Christianity, although secretly maintained their
faith in the God of Israel. Crypto-Judaism, as old
as the Jewish people, had returned in force.
The Jews from Oporto (now new-Christians)
abandoned the Jewish Quarter and started living
in other parts of the city, mainly in the area of
Ribeira. All the area which formed the Jewish
Quarter of Olival started being designated, until
these days, as Vitória (Victory), a possible allusion
to the victory of Christianity over Judaism.
Plaque in memory of the Jewish
victims of the Decree of 1496, posted
in Rua de São Bento da Vitória wall in
Oporto (Point 9 on the map).
c Locations on the map
13. The Tribunal of the Inquisition
In 1536, the Court of the Holy Office or Inquisition was
implemented in Portugal: an ecclesiastical court
designed to prosecute crimes against faith, putting an
end to heresy and apostasies. One might expect that
Oporto, in which Jewish and philo-Semitic culture is so
ingrained, would be fustigated by inquisitorial
processes. That did not happen. The action of the
court was limited.
In Oporto, the Court of the Inquisition was active
between 1542 and 1544, and during this period there
were two autos-de-fé (public penance ceremonies),
one on February 11 1543 and another on April 27
1544, by the Porta do Olival- (point 10 on the map)-,
where about 100 new Christians were punished for
maintaining Jewish practices and sinning against the
faith. The number of crypto-Jews at that time was
certainly much higher.
Article , in the newspaper HA-LAPID, about the
auto-de-fé in Oporto in 1543.c Locations on the map
14. The Tribunal of the Inquisition
In 2005 a Ehal (Ark where the Torah is kept) was discovered
behind a fake wall in a house located in no. 9 Rua de São
Miguel (São Miguel Street)- (point 8 on the map)- in Oporto
and the most plausible thesis is that there was a secret
synagogue in this house. The granitic ark (placed on the east
wall of the house) was dated from the late 16th century and
the early 17th century.
In 1618, an inquisitorial visitation led to the detention of a
hundred and fifty new Christians of great social relevance.
Once the "businessmen" of the city were smashed, then
there was a large migratory wave of new Christians, who
said goodbye to their ancestors’ land, taking homesickness
to the four corners of the world. The moment was striking.
Although many had been diluted among the population, a
wall of silence fell heavily on the Jews from Oporto. Only
three hundred years later would they reappear…
Ehal (Ark) where the crypto-jews kept the Torah scrolls
(Sifrei Torah), at no. 9 St. Miguel Streetc Locations on the map
16. Legend of the Map
• Long route - 2 km – From the Terreiro da Sé (Cathedral) to Campo Mártires da Pátria (Country Martyrs Field) A chronological route, which permits
a greater understanding of the city of Oporto and its evolution, linked to the history of Oporto Jews.
• Short route – 1.5 km – From Campo Mártires da Pátria (Country Martyrs Field) to the River Bank. A sloping route from which it is possible to view
the principle points of interest relating to the history of Jews in Oporto.
• POINTS OF INTEREST
• 1 – Rua de Sant‘Ana (Sant'ana Street)
• In the heart of the old Jewish Quarter. It was the location of the first synagogue, for which there are documented records.
• 2 – Rua dos Mercadores (Merchants Street)
• Jews began to live and trade beyond the limits of the Old Jewish Quarter.
• 3 – Praça da Ribeira (River Bank Square)
• The business centre for more affluent Jews.
• 4 – Rua do Comércio do Porto (Oporto Commerce Street)
• The location of the second synagogue for which records exist.
• 5 – Largo dos Lóios (Lóios Square)
• Jewish commerce shops and stalls existed in this area.
• 6 – Rua/Escadas da Vítória (Victory Street/steps)
• Location where it is thought that the Synagogue of the Jewish Quarter of Olival (Olive Grove) stood.
• 7 – Passeio das Virtudes (Path of Virtues)
• With a view over the “Jewish Mount” where the Monchique synagogue once stood, and over the Garden of Virtues, where there was once a Jewish
cemetery.
• 8 – Rua de S. Miguel (St. Miguel Street)
• Situated in the heart of the old Jewish Quarter of Olival (Olive Grove). At no. 9 of this street, there was a synagogue, that functioned in secret after
the Expulsion Edict.
• 9 – Rua de S. Bento da Vitória (Victory Street)
• Plaque memorializing the Edict of Expulsion of the Jews (and indeed of Judaism) from Portugal.
• 10 – Campo Mártires da Pátria (Country Martyrs Field)
• Former Olive Grove. Two Auto-de-Fé took place here during the Inquisition.
• 11 – Bandeirinha (Little Flag)
• Street, steps and court yard of the Jewish Mount of the old Jewish Quarter of Monchique.
• 12 - Kadoorie Mekor Haim Synagogue
• Center of the Jewish Community of Oporto. Located at 340, Guerra Junqueiro Street (600 meters from Casa da Música)
17. Bibliography
ISRAELI COMMUNITY OF OPORT - The Oport and the Jews (Screenplay).
MEA, Elvira - Jewish Route Oport, Oporto City Hall, 2003.