Synagogue of El Transito and Sephardic Museum, Toledo

The Synagogue of El Transito is historically a synagogue, church, and Sephardic museum. It was designed by architect and master mason Don Meir Abdeil and built in 1357 as an annex to the palace of Samuel ha-Levi Abulafia. Samuel was treasurer to King Peter of Castile. With the expulsion of Jews in 1492, the synagogue became a church.

The synagogue was given, as a church, in 1492, to the Order of Calatrava by Ferdinand and Isabella. The term "El Transito" refers to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. Used as a barracks in the Napoleonic Wars, the building was declared a National Monument in 1877. It became a Sephardic Museum in 1910.

The prayer hall measures 76 feet by 30 feet. The ceiling is almost 40 feet high. It has multi-colored Madrid-style stucco work, multi-leaved arches, and a formidable wood Mud茅jar ceiling. Arabic, Jewish, and Christian inscriptions abound. The prayer hall is lined with carved Larchwood frames with ivory inlay. The floor is covered in mosaics.

The starry sky on the frieze of the synagogue represents Heaven. The floor, covered in vegetal designs, is the Earth. In between is Jerusalem, the go-between Heaven and Earth. The intention is that the observer could read the art and architecture like a book, as seen in Arab palaces and mosques in Andalucia.

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Sight Name: Synagogue of El Transito and Sephardic Museum
Sight Location: Toledo, Spain (See walking tours in Toledo)
Sight Type: Religious
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:

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Walking Tours in Toledo, Spain

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