NEW STEPS TOWARDS THE RECOVERY OF THE JEWISH QUARTER IN HÍJAR (SPAIN)

Since 2018, the municipality of Híjar and the Foundation for Jewish Heritage have been   collaborating on an ambitious recovery project for the medieval Synagogue and Jewish Quarter  of Híjar (Spain).  The Foundation facilitated the submission of Hijar synagogue for the Europa Nostra ‘7 most  endangered sites of Europe’ award and the site was shortlisted.

Recently, the Foundation for Jewish Heritage was commissioned by the municipality to create a  master plan which will be the roadmap for future actions.  The project is ambitious and covers several areas such as heritage recovery, educational  programmes, tourism development, cultural activities and urban planning, pivoting around the  historic synagogue and a proposed future cultural heritage centre about the Jews from Híjar and  the Sephardic legacy.  

The municipality continues making steps towards the master plan goals. In this regard, 500,000 euros from European Union Funds have been allocated to Híjar by the Department of   Territorial Articulation, Mobility and Housing of the Government of Aragon. These funds  are part of the Programs of Residential Restoration and Social Housing from the Recovery,   Transformation and Resiliency plan of the Department. 

These funds will be specifically used to restore houses and improve the infrastructure of the  Jewish Quarter (Barrio de San Antón). 

Luis Carlos Marquesán, mayor of Híjar said: “We have a very clear goal: this is the restoration  of the judería area, and we go step by step. We needed support and this is it: with 500,000 euros  we can plan more ambitious actions”. 

Michael Mail, Chief Executive of the Foundation for Jewish Heritage stated: ‘there are very few  synagogues that survived from the medieval period which makes Hijar’s synagogue, with its   unique wall murals, all the more remarkable. We applaud the mayor’s exciting vision for the  future use of the building and are delighted to be playing a role in developing the project.  

Lucía Conte said: “The allocation of this funds is a stimulus to continue working on this project  because it proves that the recovery of the Jewish past in Híjar is feasible and a powerful tool to  improve the neighborhood and to benefit the present day community in a number of ways”. 

This funding represents an important boost to the project which will hopefully lead to a   successful recovery of the Synagogue and Jewish Quarter. 

Further reference:

Contact: Michael Mail : michaelmail@foundationforjewishheritage.com t: +44 7968  529609 

Contact: Lucía Conte on e: lucia.conte@upf.edu