From Wikitravel

Kazimierz, formerly a town in its own right and now an integral part of ancient Krakow situated south-east of the Old City just above the River Vistula, represents the old Jewish Quarter of the city. Now going through a dramatic revitalization, Kazimierz offers great alternatives to the increasingly "touristy" Old Town.

Contents 1 Understand 2 See 2.1 Squares 2.2 Synagoges and Prayer Houses 2.3 Churches 2.4 Cemeteries 3 Eat

Understand

The district of Kazimierz is named after its royal founder, King Kazimierz (Casimir) the Great, who established the town in 1335 - immediately neighbouring Krakow - as a prosperous merchant community on an island in the river Vistula (the northern branch of the river has now disappeared and the area now adjoins the Old City). Kazimierz's Jewish history started with the expulsion in 1495 of the Jewish community from the western part of the Old City to make way for a new addition to the Jagiellonian University. The Jewish community moved to the eastern part of Kazimierz, leaving the western part largely Christian, whereupon it eventually became the main spiritual and cultural centre of Polish Jewry for the next 4 centuries.

That history was abruptly terminated by the occupying Nazis during the Second World War when Kazimierz's Jewish inhabitants were first forced to live in appaling conditions within the Jewish Ghetto just across the river in Podgorze, before eventually being liquidated and sent to the extermination camps. (This episode is portrayed in the film Schindler's List).

Kazimierz after the war became a very seedy area under the Polish Communist regime. It is only since about 1995 that the district has begun to rediscover its Jewish heritage and undergo reconstruction and revitalisation. It is now one of the main tourist centres in Krakow.

See

Squares

• ul. Szeroka Street (Bright Street) - more of a square than an actual street, Szeroka Street represents the heart of the old Jewish Quarter in Krakow and is ringed by synagogues and restaurants
• Plac Wolnica (Market Square of Kazimierz) with Town Hall and Corpus Christi Church
• Plac Nowy (New Square) with many cool bars and pubs is the center of student life in Kazimierz

Synagoges and Prayer Houses

• The Remuh Synagogue and adjoining Jewish Cemetery with the grave of Moses Isserles
• The Old Synagogue - the oldest synagogue of stone in Poland
• The Isaak Synagogue
• The Kupa Synagogue
• The Popper Synagogue
• The Postepowa Synagogue
• The High Synagogue
• The Prayerhouse of Mordechaj Gebirtig
• The Prayerhouse of Szejrit Bne Emun
• The Prayerhouse of Salomon Deiches
• The Prayerhouse of Koba Itim l'Tora
• The Prayerhouse of Bne Emun
• The Psalm Prayerhouse
• The Prayerhouse of Bne Emun

Churches

• Bozego Ciala Church (Corpus Cristi Church) - gothic Church errected by Kazimierz the Great in 1340. The greatest Italian artist of the Renaissance, Bartholomaeo Berrecci, is burried there. The interior is baroque with a marvelous very high baroque altar and maybe the most beautiful baroque stalls Centrel Europe.
• Michala Church (Michael´s Church) with the monastry of the Paulins, one of the oldest in Poland. The defensive position of the "Church on the Rock"] brought settlement already in the 9th century. Bishop St. Stanislaw is said to be killed there by king Boleslaw II in 1079. The garden pond is traditionally belived to have served for pagan sacrifices. Many famous Poles like Jan Dlugosz, Stanislaw Wyspianski, Adam Asnyk, Karol Szymanowski, Józef Ignacy Kraszewski, Jacek Malczewski and Czeslaw Milosz are burried there.
• Katarzyny Church (St. Cathrine Church) - gothic Church errected by Kazimierz the Great in 1363 for the Augustinian Order. There ís a beautiful baroque altar and the Renaissance grave of bishop Spytek Jordan inside the church.
• Church of Merciful Hospitalers was constructed in the years in 1739 by the Trinities friars in late baroque style, according to a project of architect Franciszek Placidi. The interior of the church was ornamented with rococo stucco decorations and illusion style polychrome.

Cemeteries

• The Remuh Cemetery - cemetery from the 15th century with fine Renaissance gavestones
• The New Jewish Cemetery - cemetery from the 19th century

Eat

• Ariel Restaurant [1], Szeroka 18, tel 012-421 7920, open daily 10 am - midnight - traditional European Jewish cuisine, not kosher.

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