The synagogues of Kraków are a collection of monuments of Jewish sacred architecture in Poland. The seven main synagogues of the Jewish District of Kazimierz constitute the largest such complex in Europe next to Prague. These are:[1][2]
Two other houses of prayer, both from the 19th century, could be classed as synagogues, both of them on Meiselsa street: the B'nea Emun prayer house and the Hevre Tehillim, psalm brotherhood house of prayer.[citation needed]
Kraków was an influential centre of Jewish spiritual life before the outbreak of World War II, with all its manifestations of religious observance from Orthodox, to Chasidic and Reform flourishing side by side. There were at least ninety prayer-houses in Kraków active before the Nazi German invasion of Poland, serving its burgeoning Jewish community of 60,000–80,000 (out of the city's total population of 237,000), established since the early 12th century.[3]
Most synagogues of Kraków were ruined during World War II by the Nazis who despoiled them of all ceremonial objects, and used them as storehouses for ammunition, firefighting equipment, and as general storage facilities. The post-Holocaust Jewish population of the city had dwindled to about 5,900 before the end of the 1940s, and by 1978, the number was further reduced in size to a mere 600 by some estimates.
In recent time, thanks to the efforts of the local Jewish and Polish organizations including foreign financial aid from Akiva Kahane, many synagogues and prayer-houses underwent major restorations, while others continue to serve as apartments.[3]
The Old Synagogue on Szeroka Street, is the oldest Jewish house of prayer in Poland, built in 1407. Nowadays, the synagogue serves as the Jewish History Museum, a Division of the Historical Museum of Kraków. The exhibits are divided into four sections: synagogue furnishings and paraphernalia, Jewish rituals and festivals, the history of Kazimierz District, and the Holocaust. The museum features numerous items related to religious ceremonies, for example, candle holders, Chanukah and menorot lamps, covers for the Torah, parochot Holy Ark covers, tallit prayer shawls, and kippahs or yarmulkes. The museum holds also a considerable collection of books including 2,500 volumes of Hebrew manuscripts and prints. On the walls, there are original oil paintings on display made by Maurycy Gottlieb, Józef Mehoffer, Tadeusz Popiel, Jerzy Potrzebowski and Jonasz Stern.[4]
The Remah Synagogue
The Remah Synagogue (Hebrew: רמ״א) on the west side of Szeroka, is one of the few functioning synagogues in the city, built along the old row houses (kamienice).[5] It was founded in 1556 by a royal banker, Izrael (Isserl) son of Joseph, for his own son the rabbi Moses Isserles also known as Remah.[6] There are also a Remah Cemetery named after him, and the mikvah (ritual bath). Located further down on Szeroka Street is a bookshop that was formerly the Synagogue of Wolf Popper, the father of Joachim Edler von Popper.
^ abcAdam Dylewski, Where the Tailor Was a Poet... website created under the aegis of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Warsaw; chief editor: Dr. Piotr M. A. Cywinski. Editorial assistance: Dr. Anna Marta Szczepan-Wojnarska, and Kaja Wieczorek from Jewish Historical Institute, Warsaw
