Walking Tour of Kazimierz, a Historical Jewish District of Krakow

Submitted by Lisa Lefstein-Berusch

Through our walking tour of Kazimierz, the historic Jewish quarter of Krakow,  our group again experienced the blend of past, present, and future that is Poland today.  (Please visit the blog's links to photographs of Kazimierz to see this area for yourself.)

Before WWII, more than 65,000 Jews lived in Krakow, most of them in this Jewish quarter.  While the quarter today boasts many Jewish establishments, only a few hundred or so Jews live in Krakow today.

Our tour began at the old synagogue, today a museum where one can learn about the Jewish religion and its history in Poland. 

Szeroka street, the focal point of Kazimierz, was once entirely Jewish.  Today there are a number of Jewish establishments:  a Jewish bookstore, a number of Jewish restaurants, and Hamsa, a restaurant whose sign reads "Hummus and Happiness."  

Small tourist buses advertise tours of "Old Town, Jewish Quarter, Ghetto, and Schindler's Factory."  

On this same street, we visited the Remuh Synagogue, named for Rabbi Moses Isserles.  It is under renovation, but is a functioning Orthodox synagogue.  Behind Remuh is the old Jewish cemetery of Cracow.  The headstones, arranged in neat rows, belie the fact that this cemetery was destroyed in the war.  The grave markers were replaced by non-Jewish Poles after WWII and no longer accurately indicate the bodies buried below.  A number of headstones were broken and together form a hauntingly beautiful wall at the edge of the cemetery. 

The beautiful and elegant progressive Temple synagogue, adjacent to the Krakow JCC, is used today for concerts and meetings.  This JCC was built a number of years ago and is working to deepen and enrich Jewish life in Krakow and Poland.  The building was bustling with life and vibrant posters advertised past and upcoming Purim and L'ag B'Omer celebrations. 

Whether the renovated historic landmarks and the newer cultural institutions indicate a revival of Jewish life in Krakow, or merely an opportunity to remember Kazimierz's past remains to be seen -- but the signs we saw indicated real potential for a Jewish future in Poland.