Juderia - Old Jewish quarter along Calle de la Fe, Calle de Bailen, Plaza de Oriente, Plaza de Lavaries.
Why Jews are in Madrid
It is thought that Jews first came to Spain after the First Temple of Jerusalem was destroyred by the Babylonaians in 586 BCE. The Jews of Spain (Sfarad) are mentioned in the talmud and inthe writings of Josephus Flavius and the book of the Maccabees.
The first known persecution of Jews in Spain was bu the Visigoth in the 5th century when the status of both Jews and Muslems was reduced to that of slaves.
In 711 CE Muslims from North Africa conquered Spain and Jews were granted frredom. During the Muslim rule (until the year 1136) the Jews prospered and Jewish life blossomed; this was an era known as the Golden Age of Spain. Jews were respected not only in the courts of the Caliph as advisors and statesen, but also in the realms of poetry, philosophy and scholarship. Prominent Jews of the time include biblical commentators such as Abraham Ibn Ezra, Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman (Known as the Ramban or Nachmanides) and philosopher Solomon Ibn Gavriol. Moshe ben Maimon (known as Rambam or Maimonides) was also born in Spain but was forced to flee the country to escape the ALmohad invasion after which the practice of Judaism was forbidden. Rambam is famous for works including the MIshne Torah.
At the start of the 13th century, the Christian rulers drove the Muslims from Spain. This was the Reconquista. The situation began to deteriorate and in 1391, the Jewish Quarters of Toledo, Barcelona, Seville and Cordoba were destroyed. Jews were forced to convert to Christianity, but many, in spite of the public 'conversions' would secretly practice Judaism at home. These Jews, also known as 'New Christians' or 'Marranos' (meaning pig) were still attacked and in 1478 the Inquistion was established to persecute and destroy the Marranos.
On March 30 1492, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella signed a decree expelling the Jews from Spain. Approximately 50 000 Jews fled from Spain.
The Inquisition was not abolished until the 19th century. During this time the search for Marranos continued.
During the 1930s and 1940s approximately 40 000 Jewish refugees from Eastern Europe were allowed to enter Spain but the official edict of the expulsion was repealed only in 1968.
Today there are approximately 12 000 Jews living in Spain. The community is composed of immigrants from Eastern Europe who entered Spain before and during the Second World War, Moroccans who entered in the 1950s and Latin Americans. The main communities are in Madrid, Barcelona and Malaga and are mostly Sephardic.
Reproduced with Permission from The Jewish Travellers Resource Guide, Jeff Seidel's Jewish Student Information Center. 
