Jewish Square

Besalú’s thriving Jewish community fled the town in 1436 after relentless Christian persecution. It left behind a 12th-century riverside miqvé (ritual bath), a rare survivor of its kind in Spain, which was rediscovered in 1964. It sits inside a vaulted stone chamber, around which remnants of the 13th-century synagogue were unearthed in 2005. Access to the miqvé is by guided tour with the tourist office, but you can see the square and ruin exterior independently.