Kazimierz

Kazimierz is the district that housed Kraków’s Jews for over 500 years. Since the 1990s it has been rediscovered, and its expunged Jewish culture gradually reintroduced. Famous for its associations with Schindler and Spielberg, there’s more to the historic Jewish quarter than cemeteries and synagogues. Lying between shops selling buttons and spanners, you’ll find the heart of Krakow’s artsy character. Peeling façades and wooden shutters hide dozens of cafes, many effecting an air of pre-war timelessness. Alternative, edgy and packed with oddities this is an essential point of interest to any visitor.

The history of Kazimierz can be traced back to 1335 when it was officially founded as an island town by King Kazimierz the Great. Unlike Kraków, which was largely populated by Germans, Kazimierz was dominated by Poles. It was not until 1495 when Jews were expelled from Kraków that they started to arrive to Kazimierz in force. Awarded its Magdeburg Rights, which allowed markets to be held in what is now Pl. Wolnica, Kazimierz prospered and it is recorded as being one of the most influential Polish towns during the middle ages. By the 17th century Jewish life was flourishing and numerous synagogues had been constructed. Alas, Kazimierz was about to run out of luck. In 1651 the area was hit by the plague, then four years later ransacked and ruined by the Swedish invaders. Famine, floods and anti-Jewish riots followed in quick succession, and it wasn’t long till a mass migration to Warsaw began, leaving the once vibrant Kazimierz a broken shell.

In 1796 Kraków came under Austrian control, and four years later Kazimierz was incorporated into Kraków. It was to signal the area's rebirth. The governing Austrians ordered Kraków’s Jews to resettle in Kazimierz, and the area was slowly redeveloped; timber houses were banned, streets were cobbled and walls that once ringed Kazimierz demolished. Kazimierz was finally going places; in 1857 the first gas lamps lit up the streets, a tram depot added in 1888 and in 1905 a power station. By 1910 the Jewish population stood at 32,000, a figure that was to nearly double during the inter-war years, and a rich cultural life arose around them. But this was to change with the outbreak of WWII, and the Nazis' monstrous ideas of racial superiority. Approximately three to five thousand of Kraków’s Jews survived the horror of the Holocaust, a large proportion of them saved by Oskar Schindler. Although 5,000 Jews were registered as living in Kraków in 1950 any hopes of rekindling the past soon vanished. The anti-Zionist policies of the post-war communist authorities sparked waves of emigration to Israel, and by the 1970s signs of Jewish life had all but disappeared. The fall of communism in 1989 sparked new hope. Kazimierz by this time had become a bandit suburb, the sort of place you’d only visit with military backup. But investment began trickling in and the area's decline was reversed; 1988 saw the first Jewish Festival take place, and five years later the Judaica Foundation was opened. That was also the year Spielberg arrived to film Schindler’s List, a film that would put Kazimierz on the world map and irrevocably change its fortunes. Today a visit to Kazimierz ranks just as high on itineraries as a trip to Wawel, illustrating the historical importance and public regard the area has.

What To See

To get a feel for the area start your tour of Kazimierz at the top of ulica Szeroka, coming from ulica Miodowa (E-6). Here you’ll find the restaurant Dawno Temu Na Kazimierzu (Long Ago in Kazimierz). Disguised to look like a row of shop fronts the doorways come adorned with traders' names splashed on them: Holzer, Weinberg, Nowak. It’s not hard to feel the ghosts of the past as you walk down the Austrian cobbles. Next door stock up on your literature by visiting Jarden, the area's first Jewish bookstore, or take a look at Szeroka 6 (now Klezmer Hois hotel and restaurant). The building formerly housed the Great Mikvah, a ritual bathhouse that gained notoriety in 1567 when the wooden floor collapsed and ten women drowned. Modern day Szeroka has a raft of restaurants to pick from, though you can’t do much better than visiting Rubinstein at number 12. It’s named so for a reason. ‘Queen of Cosmetics’ Helena Rubinstein was born next door at number 14.

Take time out to explore the city's two most important synagogues  - the Old Synagogue and Remuh Synagogue - before veering to the right and onto ulica Józefa. The street actually takes its name not after Joseph of Bible fame, but the Habsburg Emperor Joseph II who stayed on this street while touring his nearly conquered territories. Find the High Synagogue at number 38, so called because the prayer room was located on the first floor. Looted during WWII the synagogue housed the Historic Monuments Preservation Studio in the post-war years, only returning to its intended function in the 1990s. Today it houses the Austeria bookshop (see Shopping) and a small exhibition space with rotating historical exhibits about the history of Poland's Jewish population. Make a right on ul. Estery to visit Plac Nowy, or continue past the numerous cafes, art galleries and antique shops to ul. Józefa 12 (D-6) to find what many regard to be Kraków’s most picturesque courtyard. Accessed via an archway, the cobbled courtyard is instantly recognisable from Spielberg’s Schindler’s List, particularly from the other side on ul. Meiselsa, where you'll find the excellent Mleczarnia cafe/beer garden and the Judaica Foundation at no. 17. When facing the courtyard and beer garden, Plac Nowy - the heart of the district - is again directly to your left.

While on your Kazimierz safari do put aside time to visit the Galicia Jewish Museum (ul. Dajwór 18, E-6) and Isaac Synagogue (ul. Kupa 18, E-6), whose restored interiors now house a permanent exhibition titled ‘In memory of Polish Jews’. In 1939 a member of the synagogue committee was executed inside these halls after refusing to set fire to it. The synagogue is also the source of an enchanting legend. It relates to the founder, Isaac, a devout but impoverished Jew who once had a dream telling him if he went to Prague he would discover great treasures buried by a bridge. Following his instincts he set off to Prague, only to find the bridge he had dreamt of surrounded by a garrison of soldiers. Having spotted him loitering, one of the soldiers challenged Isaac as to his intentions. Isaac came clean, only for the soldier to scoff words to the effect of ‘You’re an idiot! I’ve been having dreams all my life about a Kraków Jew called Isaac who has treasure hidden under his stove. But I’m not stupid enough to go to Kraków, especially seeing that every second Jew is called Isaac’. You can guess the rest. The moment Isaac returned home he pulled the stove down and discovered a wealth of riches, making him the richest man in Kazimierz.

But Kazimierz is not exclusively Jewish. Take for example the stunning Corpus Christi Church on ul. Bożego Ciała (D-6/7). Completed in 1405 the 70 metre tower dominates the horizon, and work through the ages has seen a slew of intricate details added to both the exteriors and interiors. Try and track down the tiny church prison in which sinners who had broken the sixth commandment would be held and subjected to public ridicule. Also of note is a 15th century painting, the Madonna Terribilis Daemonibus. Used in exorcisms for the last five centuries the canvas is reputed to have warded off a hundred thousand demons. Sticking to the ecclesiastical theme stop by Skałka (C-7). It’s right by the altar that Stanisław, the Bishop of Szczepanów was murdered and then quartered at the whim of King Bolesław the Bold. Stanisław was later beatified, becoming the patron saint of Poland, and it became a tradition for Polish Kings to make the pilgrimage from Wawel to this church in a bid to compensate for the sins of Bolesław. A stone allegedly splattered with the blood of the saint can be viewed close by. Ghouls will also to be delighted to learn of the crypt, one of the most high profile in Kraków. It’s here you’ll find the mortal remains of local heroes Czesław Miłosz and Stanisław Wyspiański.