Toledo and the Three Cultures: a History of Coexistence

Toledo 0009_BAJA

Patronato Municipal de Turismo de Toledo
After the fall of the Roman Empire in the West, Toledo became the capital of the Visigoth realm. Later, when this city joined Al-Andalus, it grew in importance, so much so that it became the cultural center of the Western Mediterranean. Muslim tolerance was such that peaceful coexistence thrived with the large Sephardic Jewish community, as well as the Christians, known as Mozárabes, creating a model that is still considered exemplary today.

Cultural city par excellence, in the 15th century Toledo was known for its important School of Translators, becoming a reference point for the world’s scholars. Afterwards, the Catholic Monarchs expanded and beautified the city, commissioning the building of the magnificent San Juan de los Reyes Monastery, one of the most emblematic buildings that can be visited in the city, in addition to the cathedral, the synagogue and the Santa Cruz Hospital, now a museum.

Today, this unusual cultural encounter still lends the city a unique character that makes it possible to imagine the splendor of the Middle Ages, while bestowing it with the name “the city of three cultures”.