This tour is also available as
a Private Tour.
Without Kazimierz, the Jewish world would be as empty as a body without a soul. In a different time, in a different Kazimierz, Moses Isserles (the Remuh), one of the greatest Jewish scholars to ever live, said: “The aim of man is to search for the cause and the meaning of things”. Let’s follow his advice and go deeper into the history of the Jewish presence in Kraków.
Jews have lived in Poland for nearly a millennium. In the Middle Ages, the country became known for its religious tolerance and gave Jews an unprecedented degree of social autonomy. Expelled and suffering persecutions in many other European countries, Jews flocked to Poland and the population grew rapidly. Jewish culture and learning flourished in Kazimierz. By the mid-16th century, it was the most significant center of Jewish life in the world. Even today, Jews from all over the world travel to Kazimierz and Poland to find their family, cultural and spiritual roots. By the end of the 1930s, the Jewish community of Kraków constituted about 25% of the city’s population. Just like everyone else, Jewish Cracovians had their hopes, dreams, ideas and plans for the future. All of them were crushed by the war and the occupation. The streets of the former Kraków ghetto bear witness to the desperate struggle to survive, and the destruction of Kraków’s Jewish community.
Today’s Kazimierz is a very peculiar place. During the tour, you can experience many contradictory emotions all at once: joy at discovering the rich history, culture and traditions of Polish Jewry; sadness and nostalgia for the lost, pre-war world; excitement at witnessing the rebirth of Jewish life here. The uniqueness of Kazimierz can be measured by one more thing: its amazing transition from the worst slum in Kraków to the most vibrant and hip district of the city where the lights never go out.
On this 2 hours’ 30 minutes FREE Walkative! TOUR you will see and discover:
Final point: Plac Bohaterów Getta (Ghetto Heroes Square)
After walking around Jewish district and the former ghetto we recommend taking Schindler’s Factory and Communist Kraków – Nowa Huta tours to understand history of Kraków better!
This tour describes the crimes of the Nazi Germans during the war and the terrible fate of Kraków Jews. In order to get to know this grim chapter of history better it is necessary to visit the former Nazi camp Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Professional local guide
Thank you for choosing Walkative! If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Please note that the Walkative! guides are independent and thinking individuals. Depending on the guide, the tours may vary, but they are always designed to bring you lots of knowledge and fun.
Damion was excellent, very knowledgeable, engaging and entertaining. The tour was really interesting. Definitely recommend
Ania was very knowledgeable and respectful to the Jewish participants. But she didn’t shy away from the painful and hard parts of Jewish history in Krakau.
Big Tom was our amazing guide – from Krakow, lived in Kazimierz and studied history, specifically The Holocaust at University. You can see how passionate he is and was an incredibly fantastic guide around Kazimierz and the former Jewish ghetto during WWII. Really great storytelling mixed in with the overwhelming and emotional subject matter. I love doing walking tours in the cities I visit and this one did not disappoint!
Found this tour by chance online the night before as we were stuck on what to do for our last day in Krakow. So glad we found this but wish we did this on our first day. Natalia was our tour guide and she was amazing from start to finish, she was so knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the history of Kazimierz. We were told about the history of Kazimierz from the very start to the events taken place in WW11 with other interesting facts along the way. This tour is a must if you are visiting Krakow and Natalia made the tour very interactive and we have the best morning.
Great tour with lots of information. Our guide, Jacob, was very enthusiastic, sharing interesting details and stories to spice up the main narative of the tour. He also listened to our wishes and thus took into account what we wanted to know more about or see in particular. Very fun but also great educational experience with an amazing knowledgeable guide!