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Monday, October 27, 2025

The Museum of Jewish History celebrates the 25th anniversary of the opening of its first galleries to the public

The commemorative event will take place tomorrow at 6 p.m. and will feature a musical performance by Lídia Pujol

This 2025 marks the 25th anniversary of the opening to the public of the first galleries of the Museum of Jewish History, which house and preserve the collection of tombstones bearing Hebrew inscriptions from Girona's Montjuïc. They were installed in the summer of 2000, as part of a museographic project by Joan Casanovas.

This collection is the most outstanding, both qualitatively and quantitatively, in the entire Iberian Peninsula and one of the most interesting in Western Europe. To commemorate this 25th anniversary, the interpretation materials and explanatory panels in the gallery have been renewed, and the tombstones, which have been studied in depth, can now be appreciated to even greater effect.

The anniversary celebration will take place tomorrow, Tuesday 28 October, at 6 p.m., and will include a discussion on the significance of the Museum in relation to the culture and history of Catalonia and Girona. Participants will include Girona Mayor Lluc Salellas i Vilar; former mayor of the city and mayor at the time the Museum was created, Joaquim Nadal; and Secretary General of Culture Josep M. Carreté. To conclude, artist Lídia Pujol, accompanied by Pau Figueras on guitar, will perform a repertoire as a musical journey through different spaces of the Museum.

"We are delighted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of one of our city's most emblematic museums and an outstanding part of Girona's rich cultural and historical heritage. Today is a day to congratulate ourselves and all of you on the work you do to promote Girona's culture," stressed Mayor Lluc Salellas i Vilar.

From the outset, the creation of the Museum of Jewish History was driven by Girona City Council's desire to build a space dedicated to celebrating the cultural diversity that has shaped the city itself. It also sought to highlight the significance of the Jewish community that existed in the city throughout the medieval period and was the second-largest Jewish community in Catalonia, with around 900 members at the height of its prosperity.

Celebrating 25 years of the Museum's existence also means celebrating more than 100,000 visitors a year, a considerable figure that further enhances the cultural reach and dimension of the city.

Through the Museum, Girona's Jewish Quarter has gained international recognition, meaning that the people who visit the institution - around 100,000 every year - come from all over the world.