Santa Maria la Blanca

This building was constructed in 1180, making it the oldest synagogue still standing in Spain. It was constructed under the Christian Kingdom of Castile, by Islamic architects, for Jewish use. At the time, Toledo was primarily controlled by Christians and therefore, the structure as a Muslim style in christian territory reflects the style Mudejar. The arcs are in the traditional muslim style often called the Arcos de Herraduras. The consitent feature of these arcs were there horseshoe shape at the top. They were, however, artistically altered from site to site. Furthermore, the synagogue was built from basic and cheap materials charactistic to the muslim style, like brick plaster, and wood.
This architecture and artistic style is important because it reflects one of the many different time periods in Spain. At this time the peninsula was, in general, under arabic rule. Christians, Muslims, and Jews each made up a third of the people living in the peninsula and unique to this era, the three groups lived together with a relative degree of peace. This jewish synagogue built by Islams in Christian territory is a prime example of that time period. However, throughout the history of the peninsula, this period of Muslim rule exercised the greatest amount of religious tolerance. As the Reconquest from the North succeeded and the Catholic kingdoms united, muslims were forced from the peninsula. Under Christian rule, citizens of the peninsula were required to convert to christianity and remaining jews were forced from the area. Later in 1478, people were tested during the Inquistioin. During this era, the building was taken and used as a christian church. In general, the building was not changed except to accomodate the most basic worshiping practices of the parish. While at Santa Maria, our guide told us about the renovation of the doors to enter the building as the major change from group to group. Unlike the christians who situate the door directly to the alter, the jews put the doors on the side.
A large amount of the historical signifigance of this church is in its transition through Spain's history. It survived the many conquests and tranfers of power and became a center of worship for all of the major groups. Religious tolerance was limited during different times of the countries history. However, following the strictly catholic rule of Dictator Franco, the country now clings to the idea of religious freedom. The building currently serves as a musuem in which the art seemed to be a tribute to its blended history. Just as Spain has been shaped by a number of cultures, so has the Synagogue or the Iglesia de Santa Maria la Blanca.