Kazimierz is one of the most popular districts in Krakow.  It was set up as an independent town but nowadays it is part of the city. It was founded by king Kazimierz the Great in 1335. The town took its name after its founder. In fact the history of Kazimierz goes further back in time and is linked to a place called Skałka (The Rock) where Krakow’s bishop, St Stanislaus, was slayed after he had fallen out with king Bolesław Śmiały (Boleslaus the Brave). The horrible act took place in a small church in Skałka in the 11th century and the bishop came to be revered as a martyr. This tells us that the site was strongly connected with Christianity at the time. And such was the original character of the town set up by king Kazimierz in the 14th century. Its enormous, beautiful gothic churches, funded mainly by the monarch himself still stand out in Krakow’s panorama.

​

However, these days Kazimierz that has been Krakow’s district since the 19th century is associated with another culture – the Jewish culture. It has prevailed greatly in the way the present-day Kazimierz is depicted. Cultural changes that reshaped this land date back to the late Middle Ages. That’s when king Jan Olbracht (in 1495) officially set up a Jewish Quarter in north-east Krakow. The district flourished over the following centuries. The Jewish community that prosperred on this land for hundreds of years made an extraordinary and long-lasting effect that couldn’t be wiped out even by the horrors of the Holocaust.

​

Cultural heritage that Krakow’s Jews built over those hundreds of years starting from the Middle Ages has been preserved until the present day, making Krakow a very distinctive place in Europe. And so by walking down the medieval streets, the same that local Jews once walked, and by visiting centuries-old Synagogues that they frequented for prayer, you will learn most about the oldest history of Jewish community, as well as individual people. This is also a great place where you can sit down in the evening in one of the countless restaurants in Kazimierz and enjoy traditional Jewish cuisine while listening to Klesmer music that Jews themselves once created.

​

Visiting Krakow’s Kazimierz is an amazing journey through time and space to age-old places and bygone era while rediscovering the medieval, fascinating Jewish traditions.

 

​