Kazimierz - the Jewish quarter, Podgorze - former Nazis ghetto site. Krakow guided tours

For centuries Poland had been the biggest center for Jewish Diaspora in the world. Jews had lived in Krakow, Kroke in Yiddish, since at least the 13th century. Prior to the Second World War, Jews constituted a quarter of all the inhabitants of the city. During the war, the Jewish community was almost completely exterminated by the Nazi occupants.

What remains now after the Jewish presence, mainly in Kazimierz - the best-preserved former Jewish district in Europe, are synagogues, houses of prayer and two cemeteries. The Remuh Cemetery is one of the most interesting cemeteries in the world. The buildings used in Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-winning film “Schindler’s List” still stand on the ghetto site.

Our route we will introduce you to Jewish culture and customs along with the history of their persecution by the Nazis. We’ll start off from Szeroka Street, visiting the Remuh synagogue - the last remaining synagogue which is still in use - and its 16th Century cemetery; we also visit the Old Synagogue - a stately brick building where the Museum of Judaism is located. Strolling along the old narrow streets you pass by the Wysoka Synagogue, the Isaac Synagogue, and the Kupa Synagogue until we reach Nowy Square - the former merchants’ center. Here there is a neo-Romanesque synagogue called the Tempel. We finish the first part of the tour at the Judaica Foundation.

After a coffee break, we move on to the Podgorze district - the Nazi ghetto site from 1941 to 1943. We visit an exhibition at the Pharmacy under the Eagles, the ruins of the ghetto walls and the buildings of Oscar Schindler’s factory. We return to the Old Town by tram.

Duration: approx. 3 hours