Balkan Jews


Balkan Jews refers to Jewish people who live or lived in the Balkans.

History

A small amount of Jews have resided in the Balkan peninsula since the Antiquity. However, most Jews arrived here after being expelled from Western Europe. The Sephardic Jews came to the Balkans in the 1490s after Spain was established as a Catholic country. Many Ashkenazi Jews also came to the Balkans in the 1400s because of persecution in northern European countries.

Culture