The synagogue in Tomar is one of the best preserved in Portugal similar buildings built in the middle ages. The synagogue is located in the historical centre of the city. It is worth noting the fact that the synagogue is a small Jewish Museum, which attracts huge number of tourists.

The synagogue of Tomar was built in the mid-fifteenth century the Jewish community of the city. If you look at the building from the side, the synagogue does not stand out among the other houses on the street. Modern main entrance to the synagogue was built later and goes to the Northern part of the street. In the middle ages the main entrance was designed in the form of pointed Gothic arch and out to the Eastern part of the street in the direction of Jerusalem.

Through the entrance, visitors enter a square hall. Three lateral naves separated by four columns that support the vaulted ceiling in the Gothic style. Capitals of the columns are decorated with geometric and floral ornaments. During excavations for the building of the synagogue were found the remains of a mikvah, a ritual pool, prescribed by Jewish law.

In 1496, when the persecution of Jews living in Portugal, in the synagogue was used as a prison. Later there was the Church, and after the warehouse was located. In the 30th years of the twentieth century, the old synagogue building was purchased by the Polish scientist Samuel Schwartz. He restored the building and donated it to the Portuguese government with the condition that it will open the Museum. In 1939, the synagogue was opened Jewish Museum Abraham Zacuto, who was a famous astronomer in the middle ages. Among the exhibits – medieval gravestones. One of the most famous exhibits is considered to be a stone slab, which dates back to the year 1308 and brought from the synagogue of Lisbon.