Krakow is a very popular tourist destination in Poland. It has a lot to offer tourists. Here are some of the tourist attractions in Krakow:
- Wawel Castle, which is one of the largest castles in Europe.
- The Jewish Quarter, which has many remnants of Jewish culture and heritage.
- Auschwitz, which is one of the most notorious concentration camps during World War II.
- The Cloth Exchange, which was originally built by the Germans in the 13th century to store cloth for trade with other countries.
This time we are going to focus on the Jewish Quarter, which has a lot to offer tourists. To make sure you don't miss out on any of the details, you can rely on the expert and professional guidance of the Free Tours of Krakow's Jewish Quarter that we offer here at GuruWalk.
The Jewish Quarter of Krakow is one of the most visited places in the city.
Jewish culture is an integral part of Polish culture and this quarter reflects that. Here you can find synagogues, monuments and cemeteries of the Jewish community from the 14th to the 19th centuries.
Kraków's Jewish Quarter is divided into two parts by the Vistula River. The Old Jewish Quarter is on the right bank, while the New Jewish Quarter is on the left bank. The Old Jewish Quarter has a more diverse architecture with buildings dating from different periods, while the New Jewish Quarter was rebuilt after World War II and has a more uniform architecture.
The Old Town was originally called Kazimierz, which roughly translates as "the city (Kraków) of Casimir (or Kazimierz)", but eventually became known as "Jewish Town".
Kraków's Jewish Quarter served as the setting for many scenes in Steven Spielberg's 1993 Holocaust film, Schlinder's List. The protagonist, Oskar Schindler, owned a factory there and used it as a front to prevent Jews from being deported to Nazi concentration camps.