Dennis Hollingsworth

The Call

There's an ancient Jewish neighborhood in the center of Girona, called The Call. There are many many Calls in Catalunya. We are just beginning to figure it out. It's quite a labrynth.

Here's some background via Google:

From before 890, when the Girona?s Jewish settlement is first mentioned, to 1492 when the last of the Jews were expelled from Spain, Girona embraced a lively and influential Jewish community that, at its height, exceeded a thousand people.?

As in other parts of Medieval Europe, the Jews of Girona enjoyed periods of peaceful coexistence with Christians alternating with times of persecution. Gradually, increasing anti-Semitism forced the Jews to retreat into the close confines of the Jewish Quarter. The Jews were required to seal the doors and windows that opened on to surrounding city?s streets until there was only one access into the call.? Then, in 1492, King Ferdinand expelled the Jews from Spanish Territory entirely. Only those who agreed to convert to Christianity were allowed to remain in the country.?

Before leaving Girona, the Jews were permitted to sell their properties and Christians were permitted to buy them. The new owners unblocked the Jewish quarter to give it free access into the city. They sealed over the properties left unsold along with the connecting lanes and courtyards. Over the centuries, the claimed area continued to build on top of itself, while the sealed areas slipped silently into the past where it remained, lost to memory, for 500 years.