Generally considered to be the oldest synagogue building in Europe still standing intact.

Originally known as the Ibn Shushan Synagogue, now referred to as the Santa Maria la Blanca, this is generally considered to be the oldest synagogue building in Europe still standing intact. The former synagogue is now a museum preserved by the Catholic Church and operated by the Archbishop of Toledo.

Built in 1180, the building became a church in 1405-1411 when it took the name Santa Maria la Blanca. The unique building is a Mudejar construction, designed by Moorish architects on Christian soil for Jewish purposes. Although it was constructed as a synagogue there is no women’s gallery, a Moorish nuance. The synagogue is considered an example of the cooperation that existed among the Jewish, Christian and Moorish cultures that populated the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages.