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Kazimierz's
Old Synagogue, the Top Jewish Monument in Krakow.
Krakow’s Old
Synagogue ranks with the most ancient Jewish places of
worship in Europe. For centuries it was central to the life of
the
former Jewish quarter in Kazimierz, once Krakow’s rival
city and now one of its downtown districts.
Krakow's unique
landmark
The 16th-century brick
synagogue was built next to the 14th-century city walls at the
south end of Szeroka street. Burnt in 1557, during the
subsequent reconstruction it was given a Renaissance facelift
evident in its outer shape, while the interior architecture has
remained unmistakably Gothic. When men congregated in the
spacious arched hall, women watched from the adjacent Female
Room accessible by the side door with a porch (see the
picture above).
After the Nazis had ruined
it during WW2, the Old Synagogue was rebuilt in the
mid-1950s.
Home to the Jewish museum in
Krakow
Since 1961 the Old
Synagogue at 24 Szeroka street in the
Kazimierz historic
district
has housed the museum of Jewish history and
traditions, a branch of the
City of Krakow Historical
Museum.
The grand Gothic interior of Poland’s oldest synagogue has
been restored to the past splendor with the help of museum
pieces from other places. Plus it has been crammed with extras:
relics of Krakow’s former Kazimierz Jewish quarter, items
relating to religious rites and family traditions, pictures, old
photos, documents.
The
Jewish Museum in the Old Synagogue is open on Mondays from 10
a.m. to 2 p.m. and Tuesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5
p.m. Admission is free on Mondays.
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The
Kazimierz Jewish quarter was the safe haven for Jews from
every corner of Europe till the 20th c. and a major center of
the Diaspora.
Krakow's
other synagogues
Kazimierz Town
Map
of Krakow's Kazimierz historic district
Stroll
through Krakow's Kazimierz District
Center
for Jewish Culture
Festival
of Jewish Culture
Auschwitz
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