Portuguese Synagogue

Amsterdam's Portuguese Synagogue, known in Sephardi tradition as the Esnoga, is one of Europe's most beautiful and oldest synagogues. Inaugurated in 1675 by architect Elias Bouman for the Sephardi community of Jews who had fled Spain and Portugal, it was at the time the largest synagogue in the world. Remarkably, the synagogue still has no electricity - services are held by the light of more than a thousand candles in brass chandeliers, with sand on the floor to muffle footsteps, just like on the ships that once brought the Sephardim to Amsterdam. The building miraculously survived World War II untouched. Today you can visit daily, including the historic treasure chamber with Torah scrolls and the once-legendary Ets Haim library hall.