Madrid
Toledo
Synagogues, mosques and churches stand together in Toledo’s historic quarter, a testament to the medieval Spanish city’s diverse history. The four towers of The Alcazar, a fortress built in 1085, dominate the skyline. Toledo and its surrounding countryside inspired El Greco, and his paintings are on display in many places around the city, including the museum that bears his name.
Plaza de Zocodover
The Plaza de Zocodover is a square of the city of Toledo, in the autonomous community of Castilla la Mancha. It was the nerve center of the city during most of its history, acting as its main square. A part of it was designed by Juan de Herrera in times of the reign of Felipe II. Here horses, donkeys, foals, mares, mules and other beasts were sold, when the city of Toledo was Spanish-Muslim city. Here was organized the most important market of the city. It has been celebrating for centuries, it is a weekly market. Today it celebrate on Tuesday in the vicinity of Paseo de Merchán or de la Vega.
Iglesia de Santo Tomé
The parish church must have been founded after the Christian Reconquista of the city by Alfonso VI in 1085, as the first news that we have of its existence is from 1142. From the first Mudejar building, it has kept the large multifoil arch superimposed upon the main arch that separates the main nave from the presbytery together with the sturdy buttresses of this part of the nave and a small trefoil arch on a brick frieze arranged in Mudejar style that survives in the high part in what used to be the semicircular sanctuary of the original single nave church.
Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes
This monastery was founded by King Ferdinand II of Aragónn and Queen Isabella I of Castille to commemorate both the birth of their son, Prince John, and their victory at the Battle of Toro (1476) over the army of Alfonso Vi of Portugal. Prince John of Portugal also celebrated his victory over the Castilian army of the Catholic monarchs with a solemn procession on each anniversary of the battle. This apparent contradiction was a consequence of the indecisive military outcome of the battle: the troops under Afonso V broke while the forces led by Prince John of Portugal defeated the Castilian right wing and remained in possession of the battlefield.
Mosque of Cristo de la Luz
Built in 999, the Old Mosque, current Hermitage of Cristo de la Luz, is the oldest standing monument in the city of Toledo.
Small but very rich in history and art. Its similarities and differences with the great mosque of Córdoba make it a tourist attraction that you should not miss if you come to see Toledo and want to soak up its multicultural history.
The Islamic Toledo, very unknown to many, enjoys a relevant significance in this singular building. The Toledo of the three cultures made a building: the achievement of civilizations that starred in much of the history of our city becomes a reality in this mosque converted into a church.
The legend of Cristo de La Luz, one of the best known, leaves no one indifferent …
…. don’t you know it? Come discover it!
Mezquita-Iglesia de El Salvador
The current church is built on the mosque, so it is oriented southeast in direction toward Meca. For which construction, different elements of the previous Visigothic building were reused, because of that a horseshoe arcade supported on Visigothic pilasters has been preserved with sculpted decoration of figurative themes, unusual in this type of remains. The Pilaster of El Salvador, shows in one of its faces various Visigothic miraculous scenes from the life of Jesus: the Cure of the Blind, the Resurrection of Lazarus, the Samaritan and the Hemorroísa, as well as other themes of eucharistic hue that alluding to Christ as the salvation. Its crude treatment shows the abandonment in which the work had fallen on the stone.
Although it conserves the shape of the minaret, that carries incrustations of borders, in 1159 it made several Christian modifications, and the construction in the end-15th century of the Gothic chapel of Santa Catalina. The tower corresponds to the minaret of the mosque, with a Baroque brick addition at the body of the bells.
It is dedicated to St. Savior. The church suffered a fire in the 15th-century, which forced an important restoration. Álvarez de Toledo was commissioned to the restoration and he adds new chapels highlighting the chapel of Santa Catalina.
Synagogue of Santa María la Blanca
The synagogue is a Mudejar construction, created by Moorish architects for non-Islamic purposes. But it can also be considered one of the finest example of Almohad architecture because of its construction elements and style. The plain white interior walls as well as the use of brick and of pillars instead of columns are characteristics of Almohad architecture. There are also nuances in its architectural classification, because although it was constructed as a synagogue, its hypostyle room and the lack of a women’s gallery make it closer in character to a mosque. Though it does not have a women’s gallery today, an early twentieth century architect suggested that it did at one time have a one.
The synagogue was turned into a church in 1405 or 1411, but without any major renovations. It took at that time the name of Santa María la Blanca (Saint Mary the White) and today it is most commonly known by this name.
