Kazimierz
“The danger for Kazimierz is making it into a
Jewish Disneyland,” Celina, my guide, says,
as we stand next to a stall — one of several
— selling skull caps, Star of David necklaces
and carved statuettes of klezmer musicians.
This Judaica (Jewish ceremonial art) isn’t
aimed at Krakow’s tiny Jewish community,
who number just 120. It’s for the visitors
who come to trace the history of the district,
which was home to around 56,000 Jews
before the Second World War, during which
the Nazis forced the vast majority into the
Krakow Ghetto and concentration camps.
Ater the Holocaust, this part of the city
was “a ghost town”, says Celina — largely
abandoned apart from a community of
artists drawn here by cheap rents. But, “it all
started changing rapidly ater Schindler’s List
[the 1993 movie that was ilmed here]”. An
inlux of visitors and investment followed,
with the area’s creative, bohemian vibe also
getting a boost. A pair of former tram depots
have been transformed into an engineering
museum and a restaurant, Stara Zajezdnia;
a 1970s former oice block has become hip
Nova Resto Bar; and vacant lots have been
commandeered by clusters of food trucks.
Nudging up against the Old Town, this is
one of Krakow’s most central neighbourhoods,
but it manages to squeeze in little pockets
of greenery. On a sunny aternoon, people
lock to the lush Mleczarnia beer garden, or
peaceful Mehofer Garden (named ater the
local artist who designed it), hidden behind a
museum, between apartment blocks.
We wander over to Plac Nowy, a square
that Celina describes as “a big party area”.
At its centre is a red-brick rotunda, formerly
a kosher slaughterhouse, whose windows
serve as hole-in-the-wall food stands. Most
of them sell zapiekanki, Poland’s answer to
the croque monsieur — a toasted, open-faced
sandwich topped with mushrooms and
melted cheese. Tomorrow, when I return,
there will be a lea market, selling everything
from cutlery and clothing to yet more Stars
of David.
Kazimierz has several museums dedicated
to its Jewish history, but the Galicia Jewish
Museum does the best job of fusing past and
present. A sleek space with a cool cafe and
a bilingual bookshop, it has a permanent
exhibition of modern photos documenting
what remains of Jewish culture in the region.
We pause at Ulica Szeroka, a square
with trees at its centre and pavement cafes
skirting its edges. Celina points out two
restaurants, Ariel and Ester, which play
the best klezmer music in town. We pop
into Remuh Synagogue, which survived
Nazi occupation and is now Krakow’s
only operational synagogue. Peaceful and
understated, it’s a world away from the
souvenir stands just beyond the gates.
68 nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel
NEIGHBOURHOOD