The Epicentre visitor centre in Tremp has a small exhibition space where the role of the Lleida Pyrenees in the escape of hundreds of Jewish refugees from wartime France to the Iberian Peninsula is explained.
The Epicentre visitor centre in Tremp has a small exhibition space where the role of the Lleida Pyrenees in the escape of hundreds of Jewish refugees from wartime France to the Iberian Peninsula is explained.
The Museum presents the history of the Jewish community of Girona in the middle ages. Eleven galleries form an itinerary to lead visitors through topics such the arrival of the Jewish People in Catalonia, the physical evolution of the call (medieval Jewish quarter), rituals and traditions, the synagogue, the Jewish cemetery, Nahmanides, the cultural and scientific activity of the Catalan Jews, the difficult relations among the Jewish and Christian communities towards Inquisition and the material heritage. The Museum counts on temporary exhibition rooms at the ground floor. The second floor opens to the patio of the Star of David, where the archaeological remains of the 15th century mikwe (ritual bath) are located. The third floor houses the Nahmanides Institute for Jewish Studies and Judaica Library.
The Museum of Aran has a small exhibition space where the role of the Val d’Aran in the escape of hundreds of Jewish refugees from wartime France to the Iberian Peninsula is explained.
During World War II (1939-1944) thousands of people crossed the Pyrenees into Spain to escape the Nazi horrors or to join the Allied army in North Africa or England. The mountain passes became the silent witness of their odyssey for freedom. It is estimated that between 60 and 80 thousand refugees arrived in Spain during this period, defying the high peaks, the adverse weather conditions and the surveillance on both sides of the border. One of the routes that linked the French departments of Ariège and Haute-Garonne with Pallars Sobirà passed through the town of Sort and is known as “The Freedom Route”. This museum aims to disseminate what the evasions entailed and pay tribute to all those who took part in them.
