Not much is known about the Jewish early presence in Belmonte. However, their contribution to the village is indisputable, not only for its current presence, but also for numerous traces left by previous communities.
During the demolition of “São Francisco’s” Church, located in “Largo António José de Almeida”, in 1910, was found a stone from the first synagogue of Belmonte, from the year 1297.
By this tombstone, we know that Belmonte already had a Jewish community, certainly important and numerous, thus only justified the presence of a worship place.

Were not the Jews expelled from Spain who founded the Jewish community from Belmonte, although the proximity to the border has helped to strength her.

The old Jewish quarter was located around the current “Rua Direita” e “Rua Fonte da Rosa” (the primitive Jewry Street). At the top of “Rua Direita”, north, there’s a square, one of the oldest in Belmonte, which preserves a lot of its primitive architecture. There we can see small stone houses, with small openings and crosses in the doorjambs.