It is believed that from around the 1st century BC, Spain was home to the largest Jewish community in the world. Members of this people worked in crafts, science, and medicine, and also served at the royal court.
In the Old Town of Barcelona there is an entire Jewish Quarter. It is easy to assume that the ancient synagogue is located there, yet it is hard to believe that for centuries it was hidden from human eyes, and its very existence was considered a fabrication.
In the 15th century, the Spanish Inquisition accused the Jews of desecrating Christian shrines, and pogroms and large-scale repressions began, forcing them to flee the country. Those who did not manage to hide were executed or forcibly converted to Christianity. Soon all traces of the Jews' presence in Spain were erased.
Only five centuries later, in 1997, the enthusiast historian Jaume Riera found the ancient synagogue: at that time, the repeatedly rebuilt building housed a warehouse and a dry cleaner's, but some surviving documents indicated that it had stood exactly on this spot. With great difficulty, he managed to initiate archaeological excavations, during which substantial evidence of his being right was discovered and, most importantly, the synagogue's foundation, dating back to the 2nd century. This makes it possible to consider the Barcelona synagogue the oldest synagogue in Europe! It has now been restored and is used primarily as a museum.
