INSTITUTE OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT INSTYTUT ROZWOJU MIAST

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INSTITUTE OF URBAN DEVELOPMENTINSTYTUT ROZWOJU
MIAST
Jewish town in Kazimierz, a Krakow district,
and his new image as a result of local people
activity
Krakow Poland
Elzbieta Okraska
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Krakow-citys present days

• lies in the southern part of the country, on the
  Vistula River
• administrative centre of the Malopolska Region
• the former capital of Poland and royal residence
• unique city - inscribed with the district of
  Kazimierz, and with the Salt Mine in Wieliczka in
  the UNESCO World Heritage List
• place where tradition integrates with modernity
• academic, scientific and research centre
• culture capital of Poland

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Krakow
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Citys present-day

• 18 districts

• 327 sq. km

• 757 000 inhabitants

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Citys present-day
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Krakow - history

• founded in 1257 based on the Magdeburg law which
  gave a city a new layout with a centrally
  situated marketplace
• important European city even in mediaeval times
• 1364 foundation of the Krakow Academy
• greatest development of Krakow (both economic and
  cultural) took place in the period from early
  14th century to early 17th century
• at the beginning of the 17th century, Krakow lost
  its importance, although it preserved its formal
  role as the site for royal coronations, burials,
  royal weddings or celebration of victories on
  battlefields
• during a partition period, economic collapse of
  Krakow has started but at the same time, Krakow
  remained the cultural capital of Poland and
  became a centre of national liberation movement

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Kazimierz - present days

• located at the junction of the Malopolska Upland
  and Pogórze Karpackie, on the left bank of the
  Vistula
• the former independent town
• presently part of District I of Krakow

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Kazimierz - history

• founded in 1335 based on the Magdeburg law
• designed to become a competitive centre of trade
  and crafts
• location of the university was to ensure the
  supremacy of Kazimierz to Krakow
• in the Middle Ages one of the major Polish towns,
  second to Krakow
• the 16th century was its heyday period
• in 17th century economic prosperity ended
  drasticaly
• during the time of partition the municipality of
  Kazimierz was liquidated and in 1800 the town
  Kazimierz was incorporated into the "Great
  Kraków" to become one of its districts
• from then on, the history of Kazimierz was linked
  with that of Krakow

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Citys heritage
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Citys heritage
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Jewish town- Oppidium Iudaeorum

• 1495 the Jews were forced to leave Krakow and
  move to the town of Kazimierz, where the area of
  the future ghetto was allocated to them, and
  where they stayed for almost 400 years
• first half of the 16th century - drastic
  persecution of Jews all over Europe resulted in a
  strong immigration movement to Kazimierz
• end of 16th century - creation of an
  international cultural centre of a high level and
  a wide impact area - a sort of a separate "Jewish
  town, an autonomous enclave
• 1583-1608 the ghetto was twice extended, had
  separate walls with three gates and retained this
  shape until the 1800 (the end of Jewish town)
• 19th - 20th century - the Jewish population
  gradually began to dominate the whole Kazimierz
  and the neighbouring district of Stradom
• 1867- the Jews were granted equal civil rights
• orthodox Jews remained in Kazimierz, while part
  of the former Oppidum Iudaeorum was inhabited
  only by the poorest people and ultra-conservative
  fractions of the Jewish community
• until the outbreak of World War II, Kazimierz was
  a Jewish district, with a specific culture and
  atmosphere

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Jewish town- Oppidium Iudaeorum
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Jewish town- Oppidium Iudaeorum
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Kazimierz post-war period

• 1939 1945 the Holocaust gave final end to the
  existence of Jewish district as well as to the
  common, 700-year Polish and Jewish history
• after the liberation, Kazimierz did not return to
  its previous condition due to
• - mass emigration of the Jewish community
  that had survived the pogrom and which was their
  response to the waves of anti-Semitism sweeping
  over Poland
• - repeated introduction of less wealthy
  social groups to Kazimierz
• - general neglect of historical buildings
• period of political and economic transformation
  in Poland brought real changes

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Kazimierz post-war period
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Revival of the Jewish district

• the crucial date, after which the cultural
  "revival" of the Jewish Kazimierz started, was
  1988, or the year, when the first edition of the
  Jewish Culture Festival in Krakow took place
• the first Festival was informal, but the second
  one in 1990 turned out to be already an
  international event. Since 1994, this is a
  world-famous, annual event
• another event, which helped to "promote" most
  efficiently and most quickly Kazimierz on the
  world market was Steven Spielberg's "Schindler's
  List", which was shot in Kazimierz in 1993. The
  film caused that visitors began to arrive
• 1993- the Centre for Jewish Culture was
  established by the Judaica Foundation
• soon after that Jarden, the first and only Jewish
  bookshop in Poland opened in Kazimierz, an
  independent Scena EL-JOT theatre, Laznia Theatre
  Association, Galicja Museum, as well as numerous
  art galleries and antique shops

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Revival of the Jewish district

• The creation of that new image was, in its major
  part, a spontaneous process, a work by
  individuals (those committed and those with a
  "vision", though not necessarily representatives
  of the local community). Then came the new,
  non-public cultural institutions, and next
  private entrepreneurs

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Revival of the Jewish district
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Revival of the Jewish district
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Revival of the Jewish district
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Revival of the Jewish district
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Revival of the Jewish district
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Revival of the Jewish district
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Revival of the Jewish district
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Revival of the Jewish district
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Revival of the Jewish district
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Revival of the Jewish district