Hervás Jewish Quarter

What It Is

The quarter formed by the Jews who settled in Hervás between the 14th and 15th centuries, declared a Historic-Artistic Site in 1969 and one of the best preserved in Spain. According to the town council, the community reached about 45 families, with a brotherhood house and a synagogue, and worked in trades such as shoemakers, tanners, tailors, linen merchants, scribes and moneylenders. With the expulsion edict of 1492, many families fled to Portugal and others converted and formed the brotherhood of conversos. Of the original buildings, wine presses, cellars and synagogue, only remains survive; oral tradition places the synagogue at Calle Rabilero, 19.

What Its Streets Are Like

The quarter occupies the north-east slope of the hill that runs down from the church of Santa María to the Ambroz river, from the Plaza, where Christians and Jews met, to the Fuente Chiquita. The houses are of granite, adobe and chestnut wood, with overhangs and balconies that shut out the sky, adobe frameworks, big doorways and streets paved with river cobbles. Look at the Arab tiles placed vertically on the facades to shield them from the rain. The street names recall their residents: Sinagoga, Rabilero, Cofradía.

The Route

Go down from the Plaza de la Corredera towards the river. Look for the Travesía del Moral, barely half a metre wide, the Calle Cuestecilla with its steps and Calle Rabilero, and finish at the Fuente Chiquita bridge, over the Ambroz. It dates from the 16th century, of granite ashlar with a single arch, and for centuries it was the main entrance to the village from the Vía de la Plata. On the left parapet it bears the tombstone of Alonso Sánchez, royal huntsman and nobleman of Plasencia, whom Hervás calls the Machón del Puente.

To understand it beforehand, go into the "Hervás, la historia recobrada" Interpretation Centre, at Calle Braulio Navas, 6, beside the tourist office: it tells the history of the village from the 11th to the 20th century, with the first settlements, the Jewish community, the religious orders and traditional architecture. Free entry; open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 14:00 and Tuesday to Saturday from 17:00 to 20:00. If you prefer to have it explained, the guided tour of the Jewish quarter leaves from the same street.

Los Conversos

Each summer, in early July, Hervás celebrates Los Conversos, the festival that recalls its Sephardic heritage, with a play written for the occasion and performed beside the river; in 2026 it was the 29th edition. If you want a quiet walk, choose other dates.