Jewish Kraków

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Basic Information
Short Description
A tour dedicated to the Jewish heritage of Poland. We start in the Jewish quarter of Kazimierz to learn about the history and present of Polish Jews. Later we cross the river and go to the former ghetto and talk about WWII
Total time
2h 30min
Language
English, Spanish, German, Polish, Ukrainian (check the booking calendar for availability) - look for the guide with the yellow umbrella
Price
„Pay what you wish” tours do not have a fixed price. It is up to you to evaluate your guide’s work and reward it. Some people give 10€, others 50€ depending on their satisfaction and abilities.
Meeting point
In front of the Old Synagogue on Szeroka 24 Street - look for the guide with the yellow umbrellaGo to map
Ending point
Ghetto Heroes Square
Additional info
♿️Suitable for people with reduced mobility.
Our tours run no matter the weather. High or low temperatures, rain or snow is not a reason for us to cancel our tours. We are always here for you. The only reason for cancellations are extreme weather conditions (like heavy storms…), guide's sudden sickness or no minimum number of people (5) to run the tour, but we will always let you know using the data you provided during registration for the tour.
About

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:



  • main “square” of the old Jewish Quarter – Szeroka Street 

  • Old and Remuh synagogues 

  • stories of famous Jews from Kraków

  • Plac Nowy (Nowy Sq) the centre of Kazimierz nightlife 

  • “Schindler’s List” sites and the real story behind the movie

  • WWII Jewish ghetto

  • Ghetto Heroes Square 

  • Pharmacy Under The Eagle

  • and much, much more…!


 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


Meeting Point
In front of the Old Synagogue on Szeroka 24 Street - look for the guide with the yellow umbrella

BOOKING RULES
Our pay as you wish tours are designed for individual travellers and small groups. We don’t accept parties of more than 7 people on them. If you travel in a party of 8 or more (school groups, bigger groups of friends etc.), please choose a paid option, if it's available, or book a Private Tour. For more information on the latter, please contact us.

7 and 8 December tours in 🇬🇧: 10:30, 12:30, 14:30

7 and 8 December Tour auf Deutsch 🇩🇪: 14:30

7 December Tour en Español 🇪🇸: 10:30

8 December Tour en Español 🇪🇸: 10:30, 15:45




Walkalive Krakow

Rated 5.0 out of 5
2 months ago

We have recently returned from a short visit to Krakow. Having been badly let down by another tour company we went online and luckily discovered Walkalive. We booked the Jewish Krakow tour where we were introduced to our guide Tomas, (Big Tom). His passion and knowledge for the subject was outstanding. We enjoyed it so much we booked the afternoon tour Old Town Krakow and were fortunate to have Tomaz as our guide again. again his knowledge and storytelling made for a very entertaining experience. Our third tour was the evening Macabre Krakow, not initially with with Tomaz but due to numbers he again turned out to be our guide,( he must have thought we were stalking him at this point). Again a very interesting and informative tour with a very unexpected ending kept us enthralled for the whole evening. Highly recommend these tours ( especially with “Big Tom”.

Dave

Jewish Kraków

Rated 5.0 out of 5
2 months ago

We booked our Tour an hour before it started and everything worked perfectly.

The tour was very interesting thanks to our great Guide Maciek. He told us about so many diffrent aspekts of jewish life and history in Krakow and in general. The three hours went by so quickly and we learned a lot.

Christina Barth

Excelent tour!

Rated 5.0 out of 5
2 months ago

Thanks Weronika for sharing 2,5 hours of interesting moment of history

Ana Vitor

Tomasz

Rated 5.0 out of 5
2 months ago

We were lucky to discover Walkative online. Booked this tour about an hour beforehand! Amazing. Tomasz was Knowledgeable and passionate about his city. So much information and a great delivery too. Check it out! Thank you!

Ivor and Laura

Great Tour

Rated 5.0 out of 5
3 months ago

We had Damien as our guide last night on our tour of the Jewish District in Krakow. It was very interesting and informative. I highly recommend

Lisa


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This tour is also available as
a Private Tour.

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