El Call

The headquarters of the Barcelona History Museum in El Call, inaugurated in March 2015, is located at the heart of the old Jewish quarter, where the house of Jucef Bonhiac, a former veil weaver, was located. It is a building of medieval origin where original remains from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries are preserved.

El Call maintains its name from when it was the neighbourhood of the Jews of Barcelona, who had been present in the city since ancient times and played a very active role in the urban community of the Middle Ages. The word call meant small street or alley and only later designated the whole of the area where the Jews resided. Even when it was an enclosed area, its inhabitants did not live in isolation or on the fringes of the community. In fact, some Jews came to hold important public positions such as mayor, tax collector, or ambassador, and they contributed to the commercial expansion of Barcelona. Their legacy must also include leading figures of the rabbinic tradition such as Salomó ben Adret (1235-1310). Finally, this Jewish quarter was violently assaulted in 1391. This pogrom marked the decline and triggered the dispersion of Barcelona's Jewish community.

The MUHBA’s El Call is an ideal starting point for delving into the life of the Jewish community in Barcelona in medieval times, since it addresses the trajectory of this group in connection with the city’s history and shows the splendour of its cultural legacy. The objective is not only to portray its distinctive features or the milestones it achieved, but also to try to understand the relationship that existed between the Jews and the rest of the population of the city of Barcelona.

Guide to the centre

Barcelona's Jewish quarter 
Salomó ben Adret. Barcelona 1235-1310 exhibition Program 
Barcelona's Jewish district (El Call) Route

• Map of the El Call route
• The Call Major
• The Call Menor
• The Jews and Barcelona
• From peaceful coexistence to conflict