
Our pick
Jewish Quarter walk
Starts at the Old Synagogue
- Length2.5 hours
- GuideEnglish
- AccessWheelchair accessible
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See availabilityfrom €17 · cancel without payingChoose your stop
Answer in brief
Of the Kazimierz synagogues in Krakow, you can go inside the Old Synagogue museum, the Remuh and the Tempel, while the Kupa, Isaac and High are closed to visitors and the Popper is a bookstore.
Know before you go
Find out about 32 stops
Select a route, then tap a marker or stop to see its note and open Google Maps.

Szeroka 24: a Museum of Krakow branch on the history and culture of Krakow's Jews; free on Mondays.
Google MapsSzeroka 40: the community's main synagogue, with daily and holiday prayers.
Google MapsBurials from 1551; 711 gravestones and the Wall of Tears.
Google MapsFounded in 1620 by Wolf Popper; home of the Austeria bookstore since 2017.
Google MapsThe only synagogue in Poland with its prayer hall upstairs; closed, seen from outside.
Google MapsCompleted in 1644 for Izaak Jakubowicz; closed for conservation.
Google MapsBuilt in 1643 with goldsmiths' money; the community office, closed to visitors.
Google MapsReform synagogue of 1860-62 with 36 stained glass windows and festival concerts.
Google MapsMiodowa 55, opened in 1801: the only Jewish cemetery in Krakow still in use.
Google Maps
The former Zgody Square, with the memorial of empty chairs.
Google MapsTadeusz Pankiewicz's pharmacy in the ghetto, now a branch of the Museum of Krakow.
Google MapsOne of the surviving sections of the ghetto wall.
Google MapsA section of the ghetto wall behind the school at Limanowskiego 60/62.
Google MapsThe enamel factory at Lipowa 4 that Oskar Schindler took over in 1939, now a museum.
Google MapsLaid out in the 1780s, closed by St Joseph's church and its 80 m tower.
Google MapsSite of the camp set up late in 1942 on Jewish cemeteries; no camp buildings survive.
Google Maps
On Wolnica Square, the last sign of the town's autonomy, now the Museum of Ethnography.
Google MapsKazimierz's great parish church, with a boat-shaped pulpit and the city's largest organ.
Google MapsGothic church raised around 1343 for the Augustinian order.
Google MapsWhere Bishop Stanislaus died in 1079; its crypt holds great Poles, mostly artists.
Google MapsHeart of the Jewish town, with Austrian-era cobbles and the festival's closing concert in July.
Google MapsKrakowska 46, a branch of the Museum of Ethnography.
Google Maps
Flea market and snack windows known for the zapiekanka.
Google MapsRestaurant, cafe and bookshop in a former ritual bath on Szeroka; klezmer at 8 PM nightly.
Google MapsThe Jewish Culture Festival's cafe at Józefa 36: findjan coffee, mint tea and hummus.
Google MapsDajwór 18, open daily 10:00-18:00, with a cafe selling kosher snacks.
Google MapsJózefa Street: Polish plates, homemade liqueurs and live music on Wednesdays and Fridays.
Google MapsClub and cafe at Estery 5, on the corner of Plac Nowy.
Google Maps
Laid out with the city charter of 1257; the usual start of a walk to Kazimierz.
Google MapsThe limestone hill above the Vistula, Krakow's ancient seat of power.
Google MapsRiverside paths for walking and cycling at the foot of Wawel.
Google MapsBuilt in 2010 between Kazimierz and Podgórze, lit from beneath at night.
Google MapsMap source: © OpenStreetMap contributors
Kazimierz synagogues in Krakow line a few short streets: one is a museum, one is a working house of prayer, one hosts concerts, and the rest you mostly see from outside.
Editorial team, krakowjewishquartertour.click · Updated November 9, 2026 · 8 min of reading
Key facts
Walk east from Wawel and within a few minutes the street names change: Szeroka, Józefa, Kupa, Izaaka, Miodowa. This was the Jewish town of Kazimierz, set apart late in the 15th century for Jews resettled from Krakow, with today's Szeroka Street at its heart.11 Synagogues, schools and academies grew up around it, and for centuries it was one of the leading Jewish cultural and spiritual centres in Europe.12
What survives is unusual. The city's tourist guide counts seven synagogues in Krakow and calls the Remuh the smallest of them.1 Szeroka alone once had four, which the same guide says was unheard of anywhere else in Europe.13 Most of the buildings were looted and wrecked under German occupation and used as stores, workshops or stables, yet the walls stood, and that is why a short walk can take you past so many of them.
This page takes the Kazimierz synagogues in Krakow one at a time: what each building is today, whether you can go inside, what it costs and what to look for once you are in. The map panel marks every one of them, along with the Jewish cemeteries next door, covered on a separate page of this site. Start at Szeroka, where the Old, the Remuh and the Popper stand within sight of each other, then work your way north to Miodowa Street.
Before you go
| Synagogue | Address | Today | Entry |
|---|---|---|---|
| Old Synagogue | Szeroka 24 | Museum of Krakow | PLN 22 |
| Remuh | Szeroka 40 | Active, open | PLN 15 / 25 |
| Tempel | Miodowa 24 | Open, concerts | PLN 15 / 20 |
| Popper | Szeroka 16 | Bookstore | Shop |
| Kupa | Miodowa 27 | Closed to visitors | None |
| Isaac | Kupa 18 | Conservation | None |
| High | Józefa 38 | Closed, outside only | None |
Entry figures as the Museum of Krakow and the Jewish Religious Community of Krakow state them; check before you go.6,7,8,32,4,33,34,5
The Old Synagogue in Kazimierz, Krakow, at Szeroka 24, is the obvious first stop.21 The Jewish community dates its construction to 1407 and ties it to Jews who came from Prague after the pogrom there in 1389.14 The city guide is more cautious and links its building to the move of Krakow's Jews to Kazimierz at the end of that century, so treat the exact year as debated. Either way, it is a two-nave Gothic hall built on the pattern of Worms, Regensburg and Prague.22
Fire nearly destroyed it in 1557, and the rebuilding gave it a Renaissance face that was finished by 1570.23,24 The work was entrusted to Matteo Gucci, a builder from Florence.25 Prayers were held here until 1941.26 The occupiers then deliberately wrecked the interior and turned it into a store, and its library was stolen or destroyed.27 It was rebuilt between 1956 and 1959, and the vaulted Gothic hall you stand in today is the result of that work.28
In 1959 the congregation entrusted the building to the city's historical museum, today the Museum of Krakow, for an exhibition on the city's Jews.29 The main hall walks you through the Jewish year, from the Sabbath and the New Year to Hanukkah, Purim and Passover, with the objects used for each.30 The former women's hall covers private and family life.31 It is the best place to learn what the other synagogues were for before you see them.
Centuries of building
1407
The community's date for its construction; the city guide places it later.14
Around 1556
Built under a privilege of Sigismund II Augustus.15
Around 1558
Founded for Rabbi Moses Isserles.16
1620
Founded by the financier Wolf Popper.17
1643-1644
Kupa paid for by goldsmiths; Isaac completed a year later.18,19
1860-1862
A reform synagogue with Moorish touches.20
A few doors up at Szeroka 40 stands the Remuh, the community's main synagogue, where daily prayers are held.39,35 The community dates it to around 1558 and credits its founding to Izrael Isserles Auerbach, a merchant who banked for the king, as a gift to his son, the Krakow rabbi Moses Isserles.16 The name is the Hebrew acronym of Rabbi Moses Isserles.40 His legal code, the Mappa, is still used by Orthodox Jews around the world.41
Inside, look for the plaque by the Ark that marks the place where Isserles prayed; it is left empty during services to this day.38 By the door is a stone money box carved with the words gold, silver, copper.42 Notable visitors have prayed here: Cardinal Karol Wojtyła came in 1968, and Israel's president Chaim Herzog in 1992.43 Since a renovation finished in April 2016 it has been the main place of prayer for Krakow's Jewish community.44
The community describes the Remuh as the holiest place in Krakow for all Jews, and that sets the tone of a visit.45 Morning prayer, Shacharit, starts at 8:30, so come later in the day if you want to look around rather than intrude.35 The old cemetery behind the synagogue is part of the same visit and the grave of Isserles draws pilgrims every year on the anniversary of his death.46 On the square outside, a bench honours the wartime courier Jan Karski.47
Choose your stops
Match the synagogue to the time and interest you bring.
If I want the history in one place
The Old Synagogue museum
Its exhibition covers the Jewish year and family life in Krakow.30,31
If I want a living house of prayer
The Remuh
Daily and holiday prayers are held there.35
If I love interiors and stained glass
The Tempel
It has 36 stained glass windows with floral and geometric patterns.36
If I am here on a Monday
The Old Synagogue
Monday is the museum's free-entry day.37
If I want books to take home
The Popper
It has housed the Austeria bookstore since 2017.32
With a guide

Our pick
Starts at the Old Synagogue

Many languages
Synagogues and courtyards

Small group
From Grodzka Street
The Tempel at Miodowa 24 is the youngest of the group and, in the community's words, its most impressive.99,8 It was built between 1860 and 1862 in an eclectic style with Moorish touches.20 It was a reform synagogue, where sermons were given in Polish and German and women could sing with the cantor and the choir, which drew sharp criticism from the Orthodox community around the Remuh.100,101,102
Look up when you enter. The building has 36 stained glass windows with floral and geometric patterns, many still carrying the names of their donors.36 The white marble Ark, the wooden women's galleries and the painted ceiling survived the war, when the hall was used as storehouses and stables.103 Regular services stopped in 1985, when its last cantor, Abraham Lesman, died.104 The Jewish Community Centre was built behind it in 2006-08.105
Today the Tempel is a place for prayer and culture alike. Every year it hosts concerts of the Jewish Culture Festival, and a mikvah works again in its backyard.54 It is also the venue of the Days of Judaism in the Catholic Church, organised with the Archdiocese of Krakow.106 If your visit falls in festival week, check the programme for an evening concert here: hearing music under that ceiling is a different experience from a daytime look around.
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Three synagogues are closed to ordinary visitors at the moment, and it helps to know this before you plan. The Kupa at Miodowa 27 was built in 1643 with money from Kazimierz goldsmiths and houses the community office; the community says it is currently closed to visitors.107,18,52,4 Members still meet there for Shabbat dinners on Friday evenings.108 In August 1945 Poland's first pogrom after the war broke out there.109
The Isaac Synagogue, where Kupa Street meets Izaaka Street, was completed in 1644 and the city guide calls it the most imposing in Krakow.34,19,110 Its founder, Izaak Jakubowicz, is tied to a well-known legend about a treasure dreamed of under a bridge in Prague.111 Under occupation it became a workshop for stage scenery, with Tadeusz Kantor among its painters.112 Conservation work is under way and the building is shut until further notice.33,113
The High Synagogue at Józefa 38 takes its name from its prayer hall on the upper floor, the only arrangement of its kind in Poland.114,51 It dates from around 1556 and compares with synagogues in the Venetian ghetto, where prayer rooms were added on top of houses.15,115 Inside is the largest and oldest Renaissance Ark preserved in Poland, but the city guide lists the building as closed and visible only from outside.116,5
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the plaque on the right-hand side of the Ark of the Torah commemorates the place were Rabbi Remuh used to pray, and which remains unoccupied during services to this day
Before you go in
The Popper Synagogue at Szeroka 16 was founded in 1620 by Wolf Bocian, known as Wolf Popper, one of the wealthiest men in Kazimierz.117,17 Its gate on Szeroka still separates the old courtyard from the street. The building is owned by the community and since 2017 has housed the Austeria bookstore, so you can step inside to browse books on Jewish history and Kazimierz.32 Browsing there is a simple way to stand inside a synagogue building without a ticket.
Not every house of prayer survived. On Szeroka, the small synagogue known as Na Górce, where the Kabbalist Natan Spira studied, was lost in the war and later pulled down; the city guide notes that he died in 1633 after his candle burnt out, as the story goes.118 Before the war the district was full of smaller prayer houses as well. The community publishes a map of the pre-war houses of prayer, a reminder of how dense Jewish religious life once was here.
Keep that absence in mind as you walk. The city guide says that by the 1930s every fourth person in Krakow was Jewish.119 The synagogues you see today are the shells of that world, saved, rebuilt and returned step by step after 1989, when the revival of the district began.120 A visit is not only about architecture; it is about who prayed here, how they lived, and what happened to them.
The community's synagogues keep a summer and a winter timetable. In summer, from March to October, they open 10 AM to 6 PM; in winter, from November to February, 10 AM to 4 PM.9,121 Last entry to the synagogues and the cemetery is 17:30.96 They close on Saturdays and Jewish holidays, and every Friday they shut 2 hours earlier as Shabbat begins.95,10 The Old Synagogue museum keeps its own hours: Monday 10 AM to 3 PM, Tuesday to Sunday 9 AM to 5 PM.122
Dress modestly and expect men to cover their heads; a head covering can be rented in each synagogue.97 The community does not provide guides inside its buildings, so if you want the stories told on site, come with a guide or read up first.98 At the Old Synagogue, last entry is 30 minutes before closing, and an audio guide costs PLN 15.123,124 Monday is the museum's free-entry day; you can reserve a ticket in advance.37
Plan around the Jewish calendar as well as the clock. In 2026 the Old Synagogue closed for Yom Kippur on 21 September, and the community publishes the dates when its synagogues shut or close early for holidays.125 The guided walk this site recommends meets in front of the Old Synagogue and lasts 2.5 hours; it names the Old Synagogue among its stops but its listing does not include entry to any building, so allow extra time if you want to go inside afterwards.
FAQ
The city's tourist guide speaks of the seven synagogues of Krakow, and the Remuh is the smallest of them.1
A head covering for men can be rented in each synagogue.97
It is the community's main synagogue, with daily and holiday prayers.35
The Tempel hosts concerts of the Jewish Culture Festival every year.54
Sources
Also worth reading
Planning a walk through Kazimierz? Ask a real person here.