The Judiaria Velha de Elvas was the old Jewish quarter of the city, located within the medieval urban core and closely connected to the area of the Sapataria and the present Rua dos Açougues.

The Judiaria Velha in the documents

The documentation preserves several references to this space. In 1442, a house inside the old enclosure of Elvas is described as standing on the street that went from the Porta de Santiago to the Judiaria Velha. In 1456, another document confirms that the Rua da Judiaria Velha bordered the Rua da Sapataria.

The name continued to appear after the end of medieval Jewish communal life. In 1508, Lopo Gomes, a squire, referred in his testament to houses in the Judiaria Velha, together with other houses and stables in Rua da Sapataria.

Urban memory and later names

The persistence of the name Judiaria Velha suggests that this was already an established Jewish urban space by the late medieval period. Later documentation and toponymic studies connect this area with streets that changed names over time, including Rua de João Sutil and Rua de João de Olivença.

The existence of a “Judiaria Velha” also suggests that another Jewish area may have developed later in Elvas. However, the precise location and limits of this later Judiaria Nova are less secure and should be treated with caution.

Rua dos Açougues and the possible synagogue

The strongest visible reference today is Rua dos Açougues. The Municipality of Elvas states that the great synagogue of Elvas was very probably located there, in a building later adapted by the municipality into a public slaughterhouse in the early sixteenth century.

This identification remains probable, not proven. VisitPortugal also notes that there is no concrete evidence that the building formed part of the old synagogue. Even so, the building is now one of the main public references to the Judiaria Velha de Elvas.

The same space houses the Casa da História Judaica de Elvas. Its exhibition presents the history of the Jewish and New Christian community of Elvas, including references to families such as the Correio-Mor, Botafogo and Orta.