Zinar Castle

Once an independent city located south of Wawel, for centuries the place of residence of the Jewish population of Krakow, today it is one of the greatest tourist attractions of Krakow.

The city of Kazimierz was founded in the 14th century by King Casimir the Great to protect the southern the borders of the royal city and the capital of Poland at that time. Its main artery was Krakowska Street - part of the trade route connecting Krakow with Hungary. Soon, monumental churches were built in the city, including the main parish church of St. Corpus Christi. A town hall (now the Seweryn Udziela Ethnographic Museum) and commercial stalls were also erected on the square. Kazimierz developed rapidly and in the Middle Ages was considered the second most important city in Poland. Its splendor was brought to an end by the Swedish invasion of 1655-1657. Eventually, in 1800, the city lost its independence and became a district of Krakow.

The history of Kazimierz in Krakow is the history of a Christian-Jewish neighborhood for centuries. At the end of the 15th century, an autonomous town was established here for Jews displaced from Krakow ("oppidum iudaeorum"). Its center was today's Szeroka Street. Numerous synagogues, Jewish schools, colleges and institutions were built around. For centuries it was one of the most important Jewish cultural and spiritual centers in Europe. In the 16th century, the famous scientist and rector of the Talmudic Academy, Moses Isserles, called Remuh, operated here. Jews from all over the world make pilgrimages to his tomb, shrouded in the legend of miracles fulfilled. In the next century, in the attic of the synagogue at ul. The learned rabbi Natan Spira studied Kabbalah at 22 Szeroka Street - in 1633 the candle went out and the famous Kabbalist died, apparently from exhaustion. In the nineteenth century, after joining Krakow, Kazimierz transformed into the center of orthodoxy and a destination for pilgrimages of Jews from all over the Republic of Poland. In 1822, the walls surrounding the Jewish district were demolished and Jews were allowed to settle throughout Kazimierz. In the 1930s, they constituted a fourth of the population of Kraków. World War II brought about the extermination of the Jewish community of the city.

After the political changes in Poland in 1989, the ruined district began to revive. Its atmosphere is created today by galleries and studios, restaurants, pubs and clubs, hostels and small hotels, as well as the popular flea market on Nowy Square. Traces of ancient history are enchanted in the old walls, streets and alleys, synagogues and cemeteries, churches and constantly discovered historical souvenirs. Their memory is cherished by cultural institutions and associations operating here, as well as by the reviving Jewish community.