Kosher places in Madrid

• Review
• Thursday, August 07, 2008

Spain used to be one of the countries where the Jews, Muslims, and Christians lived in harmony. One of the main towns representative of this is Toledo, on the outskirts of Madrid, which also used to be Spain's capital city.

In short, during the Spanish inquisition of 1492, when Spain was reconquested by Spanish Christians and run by a Catholic Monarchy, the "purification" of Spain began with all efforts to drive out the non-believers i.e. the Jews, followed by the protestants -- all in aim to "unify the nation." So a country with a strong multi-cultural and multi-religious history all of a sudden worked towards being Catholic. However, there are many remnants of Jewish and Muslim cultures, most of which make the country historically unique. 

Spain today is estimated to have 60,000 Jews, 14,000 of whom are in Madrid. Lavapies, the now "immigrant" barrio of the city, used to be the main old Jewish quarter before the inquisition. There are a handful of Kosher establishments for them, frequented by local Jews and tourists alike. Here's a recently published article on the Jews in Madrid.

So if you are Jewish, or want to experience Kosher food, Madrid does have its set of places to go. There are about 9 such establishments (restaurants and grocery stores) that cater to the Jewish population in the city, a full list of which can be found here.  

Shalom! :)