Toledo - Santa María la Blanca

In 192 BC, the Romans conquered the area and founded the outpost Toletum. Due to its iron ore deposits, Toledo developed into an important settlement. Since the first barbarian invasions, the ancient walls were reinforced. In 411 the Alans and later the Visigoths conquered the city. Toledo was the capital of the Visigoths' empire from about 531 to 711.

The Moors conquered the place in 712. Toledo experienced its heyday during the period of Moorish rule as Ṭulayṭula during the Caliphate of Córdoba until its conquest by Alfonso VI in 1085, after a four-year siege. In 1088, only a few years after the conquest, Archbishop Bernard of Toledo obtained confirmation from Pope Urban II that Toledo should hold the "primatus in totis Hispaniarum regnis" (primacy in all the kingdoms of the Iberian dominions). The Archbishop of Toledo is still today the Primate of the Catholic Church of Spain.

In the 12th and 13th centuries, the Toledo school of translators translated ancient philosophical writings (Plato, Aristotle) that had been translated from Greek into Arabic, but also genuinely Arabic writings from the fields of astronomy, mathematics, Islamic religion and theology into Latin.

After the conquest by Alfonso VI, Toledo became the residence of the Kingdom of Castile in 1087 and remained the capital of Spain until 1561.
In the 12th century, more than 12,000 Jews lived in Toledo.

According to an inscription, this synagogue was built in 1180, but it probably only acquired its current appearance in the 13th century. It is considered the oldest synagogue building in Europe still standing. After the attacks on the Jewish quarter in 1355 and 1391 and the emigration of many Jews, it was converted into a Catholic church in 1405.

The synagogue is a Mudéjar construction, created by Moorish architects. But it can also be considered one of the finest examples of Almohad architecture. The plain white interior walls as well as the use of brick and of pillars instead of columns are characteristics of Almohad architecture.