By the castle is a small judiaria – the former Jewish district. A sizeable community of Jews settled here in the 12th century, then larger waves came in the early 15th century after the expulsion of the Jews from Spain. At first they didn’t have an exclusive district, but Dom Pedro I restricted them to specific quarters. The highlight of this area is the synagogue and museum .
Reopened in 2009 after being converted into a museum, the site comprises the original synagogue – two rooms (one for women and one for men), a wooden tabernacle and Holy Ark for Torah scrolls. The remaining rooms (part of the original village home from which the synagogue was originally converted) house a superb collection of items illustrating the history of the Jewish communities of Castelo de Vide. Following Manuel I’s convert-or-leave edict in 1496, many Jews returned to Spain, though some headed to Évora.
