Krakow’s Jewish community, once among Europe’s largest and most influential, was rich with scholarship, synagogues, and thriving Jewish institutions. Though many lives were lost in the Holocaust, glorious remnants of this vibrant history remain, and today a new chapter is unfolding. Read on for 13 facts about the unique Jewish heritage of this ancient Polish city.
1. Jews Arrived There in the 1200s
Jews first settled in Krakow in the late 13th century, attracted to the opportunities the up-and-coming city offered. This was a period of rapid growth, as Krakow developed into a center of trade and commerce, and Jewish merchants and traders soon made it their home. This early settlement laid the foundation for what would become one of the most influential Jewish communities in Europe.
2. Kazimierz Was the Jewish Quarter
In 1495, the Jews of Krakow were expelled from the main city to a nearby suburb, Kazimierz (Kuzmir in Yiddish), where they created a vibrant Jewish quarter called “Oppidum Judaeorum” (Latin for “Jewish City”). The walled-in Jewish neighborhood became a hub for Jewish life and scholarship, packed with synagogues and renowned scholars who shaped Jewish thought.
3. World-Famous Scholars Lived There
The 16th and 17th centuries ushered in a Golden Age for the Jews of Poland. This era saw many legendary rabbis studying and teaching in Krakow, such as Rabbi Moshe Isserles (the “Rema”), Rabbi Heschel of Krakow, Rabbi Yoel Sirkes (the “Bach”), Rabbi Nattan Nata Schapiro, and Rabbi Yom Tov Lipman Heller. Krakow became a center for learning, and these scholars’ works remain staples of Jewish study today.1
Read: The Holy Silver Thief
4. It Was Dubbed “The Small Land of Israel”
The community’s prestige was so great that the Rema described it to his colleague Rabbi Yosef Caro as “the small Land of Israel from where Torah goes forth; it is filled with knowledge as the waters cover the sea.”2
5. Its Ancient Synagogues Still Stand
![The interior of the "Old Synagogue".](https://w2.chabad.org/media/images/1301/CNcV13012759.jpg?_i=_n504BC99DD0473598AAE3BCDC5D75568D "The interior of the "Old Synagogue".")
In Kazimierz, several historic synagogues have stood the test of time. Among them are the Old Synagogue, the oldest still in Poland, built in the 1400s; the Rema Synagogue (see next fact); the High Synagogue, completed in 1563; and Isaac’s Synagogue (see below), each with its own unique story and historical significance.
6. You Can Still Catch a Minyan at the Rema Synagogue
The Rema Synagogue, named for Rabbi Moshe Isserles, was built in 1553 by Rabbi Isserles’ father, Rabbi Yisrael. The Rema led a prestigious yeshiva in Krakow, and his famous work, the Mapah, remains a cornerstone of Jewish law for Ashkenazi communities. Amazingly, this small historic synagogue is still active, welcoming visitors for daily prayers.
Read: Rabbi Moshe Isserles
7. There’s a Legend to Isaac’s Synagogue
Isaac’s Synagogue, constructed in 1644, has a legendary origin. It’s said that a poor Krakow resident named Isaac Yekils dreamt of hidden treasure beneath a bridge in distant Prague. When he attempted to retrieve it, a nearby guard asked him what he was looking for, and Isaac told him about his dream. Laughing at his foolishness, the guard told him that he, too, dreamt of a treasure hidden beneath the stove of a Jew named Isaac in Krakow. Isaac returned home and found the treasure right there in his own home. He used part of his new fortune to build the synagogue that bears his name.3
8. Cemeteries With Centuries-Old Tombstones
The Rema Cemetery, adjacent to the Rema Synagogue, was established in the 1500s. Its ancient tombstones were vandalized by the Nazis, but many have since been restored. Miraculously, the gravesite of the Rema remained untouched.4
Also in Krakow is the New Jewish Cemetery, which dates back to 1800 and is the resting place of many notable scholars and saints. Two additional cemeteries are no longer extant, destroyed by the Nazis to form the site of the Plaszow concentration camp.
9. It Is the Birthplace of the Beit Yaakov School Network
Krakow native Sarah Schenirer initiated the first formal Jewish education system for girls, recognizing the need for quality traditional Jewish education to counter the allure of secularization. In 1917, she founded the first Beit Yaakov school in her Krakow hometown. By the time of her passing in 1935, there were nearly 40,000 girls in her rapidly expanding empire of Beit Yaakov schools, a legacy that continues worldwide.
10. The Nazis Decimated Jewish Krakow
When Nazi Germany occupied Krakow in 1939, the city’s Jewish community was beset by increasing oppression and hardship. Most of Krakow’s 70,000 Jews were expelled from the city, with the 15,000 remaining Jews forced into the Podgorze ghetto in 1941. From there, Jews were deported to the Belzec and Auschwitz extermination camps, as well as the local Plaszow concentration camp. Only a fragment of Krakow Jewry survived.
11. Oskar Schindler Saved Hundreds of Lives
During the Holocaust, Oskar Schindler, a German businessman, ran an enamelware factory near Plaszow. Schindler treated the numerous Jews employed in his factory well, in direct contrast to how Jews were dealt with at other labor camps. When his factory was relocated in 1944, Schindler compiled a long list of Jewish men and women to be granted safe passage to the new site, saving over 1000 Jewish lives.
12. The Post-Holocaust Era Was Harsh
After World War II, only a few thousand Jews remained in Krakow, a shadow of its former vibrant community. This number dwindled further following a pogrom on August 11, 1945, during which one Jew was killed, several were injured, and a synagogue was set on fire. Later, Communist rule imposed restrictions that further weakened Jewish life in the city.
13. Krakow’s Jewish Renaissance Today
Though Jewish life in Krakow was nearly destroyed, the community has seen a resurgence since the end of Communist rule in Poland in 1989. Today, Krakow has a Chabad House, preschool, synagogue services, kosher food options, a mikvah, and more. Tourists, who often visit Krakow after nearby Auschwitz, are warmed to see that the story of Jewish Krakow is not one of the past, but of the present and future.
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