Just inland from the New Fortress, a few streets of Corfu Town’s old town carry a quiet weight of history. This is the Evraiki, the Corfu Jewish Quarter, where a Jewish community lived, worked and worshipped for centuries. Today most visitors walk through without noticing, but a surviving synagogue and a memorial nearby tell the story of a community that was almost entirely destroyed in a single day in 1944.
A Community Through the Centuries
Jews had lived on Corfu since at least the medieval period, and the community grew under Venetian rule from the fourteenth century onwards. Over time, it brought together two main groups. The first were the Romaniote Jews, Greek-speaking Jews whose roots in the region went back to Byzantine times. The second were Jews from Italy and Spain, many of whom arrived after being expelled from the Iberian peninsula in the late fifteenth century, and who spoke a Venetian-influenced Italian.
Under the Venetians, the community was confined to a designated quarter, and their lives were subject to restrictions, but they also played an important role in the island’s trade and commerce. Under the British and later as part of Greece, restrictions were lifted, and the community flourished, running shops, workshops and businesses throughout the town.
The Streets of the Evraiki
The Jewish quarter lies in the area around Velissariou Street and the streets leading up towards the New Fortress. Like the rest of the old town, it is a tight network of narrow lanes, stone staircases and tall houses with shutters and balconies.
At its height, the quarter had four synagogues serving the different groups within the community. Most were destroyed or damaged during the Second World War, including in the German bombing of Corfu Town in September 1943, which hit this part of the old town particularly hard.
The Scuola Greca Synagogue
Of the synagogues that once stood in the old quarter, only one survives: the Scuola Greca, or Greek synagogue, on Velissariou Street. It dates back to the seventeenth century and is still used by the small Jewish community of Corfu today.
The building is modest from the outside, but inside it keeps its traditional layout, with the reading platform and the ark on opposite sides of the hall, as well as its old chandeliers and wooden fittings. It is a rare surviving example of a synagogue from the Venetian period in Greece.
June 1944
By the start of the Second World War, around two thousand Jews lived on Corfu. The island was occupied first by Italy and then, after the Italian armistice in September 1943, by Germany.
In early June 1944, as the Allied landings took place in Normandy, the German authorities ordered the Jews of Corfu to assemble at the Old Fortress and the Spianada. On 10 June, they were taken by boat to the mainland and then by train to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Around 1,800 people were deported. Only a small number survived, fewer than two hundred.
Some Corfiot Jews were hidden and saved by Christian families on the island, at great risk to themselves. But the deportation ended a community that had been part of Corfu’s life for hundreds of years.
The Holocaust Memorial
Near Solomou Square, at the edge of the old Jewish quarter and close to the Old Port, stands a memorial to the Jews of Corfu who were deported and killed. It depicts a family, a mother holding her children, and was unveiled in 2001. Visitors often leave small stones on the memorial, following Jewish tradition.
It is a quiet, simple place, and many people pause here at the beginning or end of a walk through the old town.
Visiting the Synagogue Respectfully
The Scuola Greca is an active place of worship, and opening arrangements are limited. It is usually open to visitors on certain days and at certain times, particularly in summer, and may be closed on the Sabbath and Jewish holidays. Check in advance or ask locally before your visit.
- Dress modestly, covering shoulders and knees.
- Men may be asked to cover their heads, and a kippah is usually provided.
- Ask before taking photographs inside.
- A small donation towards the upkeep of the synagogue is appreciated.
Including the Evraiki in a Walk Through the Old Town
The Jewish quarter is only a short walk from the New Fortress, the Old Port and the Campiello, so it fits easily into any walking route through Corfu Town. Starting at the Holocaust memorial, walking up Velissariou Street to the synagogue and then climbing to the New Fortress for the views over the town is a meaningful and peaceful way to spend an hour or two. The history of the Second World War on the island, including the Oxi Day commemorations and the German occupation, is covered in our Oxi Day post later this month.
Discover Corfu Town with Corfu Compass NSK
Corfu Town’s history is layered, and many of its most important stories are easy to miss without local knowledge. Corfu Compass NSK offers guided tours of Corfu Town, including its lesser-known quarters, with a respectful and factual approach to the island’s past.
Contact Corfu Compass NSK to arrange a guided walk through Corfu Town’s old town.
