Casa de Sefarad
Written by official guides
Casa de Sefarad is a private museum devoted to the memory of the Jewish community of Córdoba, housed in a 14th-century house in the heart of the Jewish Quarter, at number 2 Calle Judíos, on the corner of Averroes, right opposite the Synagogue. Since opening in 2006 it has gathered in nine rooms objects, documents and recreations of Sephardic life in the city before the expulsion of 1492.
This article covers the history of the building, what to see room by room, the updated opening hours and price, and how to get there from the rest of the Jewish Quarter.
History of Casa de Sefarad
The building occupied by Casa de Sefarad is a 14th-century Jewish home, later transformed into a typical 19th-century Cordoban communal house and restored for museum use, with its rooms arranged around a central courtyard.
Casa de Sefarad opened as a privately run museum and cultural centre in 2006, with the aim of recovering the memory of the Cordoban Jewish community, one of the most important cultural centres of medieval Europe until the expulsion of the Jews from the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon in 1492. The museum also keeps a specialised library and organises concerts, temporary exhibitions and recitals.
What to see in Casa de Sefarad
The route is spread over nine rooms around the central courtyard. These are the highlights:
1. Room of the Inquisition
It brings together period documents on the trials of the Tribunal of the Holy Office and a replica sanbenito, the penitential tunic the condemned had to wear.
2. Room of Maimonides
It is devoted to the philosopher and physician Maimonides, born in Córdoba in 1138, one of the most influential figures of medieval Jewish thought.
3. Room of Women and Sepharad
It gathers paintings by the painter Luis Celorio focused on the lives of Jewish women in Al-Andalus.
4. Room of Sephardic Music
It displays instruments, scores and recordings of the Judaeo-Spanish musical tradition.
5. Room of Judaeo-Spanish
It explains the origin and evolution of Ladino or Judaeo-Spanish, the language the Sephardim preserved after the expulsion of 1492.
Casa de Sefarad opening hours and prices
Casa de Sefarad opens Tuesday to Saturday, from 11:00 to 18:00. In July and August the hours are reduced to 10:00 to 15:00. It is closed on Sundays and Mondays.
The general ticket costs €5. There is a reduced rate of €4.50 for seniors and people with disabilities, and €4 for students.
How to get to Casa de Sefarad
Casa de Sefarad is at number 2, Calle Judíos, on the corner of Averroes, in the heart of the Jewish Quarter of Córdoba and right opposite the Synagogue. It is a short walk from the Mosque-Cathedral and the Zoco Municipal, within the network of streets of the Jewish quarter, in the heart of the city's historic centre.
The Jewish Quarter concentrates many of the cultural attractions of central Córdoba. Near Casa de Sefarad you can visit the Synagogue, the Zoco Municipal and the other house museums of the Jewish quarter, as well as the Mosque-Cathedral, which lets you combine several visits on a single walking route through the historic centre.
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