Castelo Branco Jews • Center of Portugal

Known since 1214, the Castelo Branco Jewish community, associated with commercial and craft traditions, quickly developed.

Known since 1214, the Castelo Branco Jewish community, associated with commercial and craft traditions, quickly developed. When Jews were expelled or forced to convert, the city became a refuge to a large community of New Christians.

The land of Amato Lusitano, a distinguished Jewish doctor, still keeps the memory of this Hebrew community alive in the stones of its 15^th century houses. The city has its own route so that visitors can stroll through the streets of the old town, recreating what might have been the limits of the old Jewry. You will find traces of Sephardic Jews who lived in the city in the doors of houses at d’Ega and Nova streets.