Nidhe Israel Synagogue

Sephardic Jewish families came to Barbados from Brazil in the seventeenth century, bringing with them the sugar-making techniques that transformed the island's economy, and the synagogue they founded in 1654 is among the oldest in the western hemisphere. The building was rebuilt after the 1831 hurricane, fell out of use as the community shrank, and was restored from near-dereliction in the 1980s. Beside it a museum covers the community's history, and behind it archaeologists uncovered a mikveh, a ritual bath fed by a natural spring, dating from the seventeenth century and now displayed under a canopy. The cemetery holds stones in Hebrew, Portuguese and English.

History

The synagogue was built in 1654, and its community grew when about 300 Jews from Recife in Brazil, fleeing Portuguese persecution, settled in Barbados; a hurricane wrecked the building in 1831, and it was rebuilt but fell into disrepair until it was sold in 1929. The Barbados government took it over in 1983 and handed it to the Barbados National Trust two years later, and renovation began in 1986. In 2008 three weeks of excavation uncovered a mikveh, probably of the 17th century, and the Nidhe Israel Museum opened the same year; in 2011 the synagogue and mikveh became part of the Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison World Heritage Site (Wikipedia, Nidhe Israel Synagogue).

The main sights

• The 1654 foundation - among the oldest in the hemisphere.
• The mikveh - a seventeenth-century ritual bath excavated behind the building.
• The cemetery - stones in Hebrew, Portuguese and English.
• The museum - the community's role in bringing sugar technology.

When to go

Year-round; open weekdays with limited hours and closed on Saturdays for Shabbat. Mornings are quietest. Two hours covers the synagogue, mikveh and museum together.

What to expect

Hours are limited and it closes on Saturdays and Jewish holidays, which catches visitors out. It is small and takes under two hours. The surrounding streets of central Bridgetown are busy and unremarkable. Modest dress is expected.

Nearby

Bridgetown's centre and the Careenage are a short walk; the Garrison is south.

Key facts