Synagogues
The Tempel Synagogue
Miodowa 24
Entry donation: PLN 10 / 15
Open hours:
Summer season: 10:00 – 18:00
Winter season: 10:00-16:00
Saturdays and Jewish holidays closed
It is the most impressive and newest of Krakow’s synagogues, located at Ozjasz Thon Square, at the intersection of Miodowa and Podbrzezie Streets. The building, constructed between 1860 and 1862, features an eclectic, neo-Renaissance design with Moorish elements. The richly decorated façade, above the main entrance, features black marble tablets of the Ten Commandments. The façade and side walls feature bipartite arcade windows with unique, colorful stained glass from the turn of the 20th century. Two of these windows are dedicated to the memory of Czesław Jakubowicz, the long-time president of the Jewish Community, and Maria Jakubowicz. The wall paintings, composed of plant motifs, have an Oriental character. The ceiling of the synagogue’s main prayer hall and the balustrades of the women’s gallery are adorned with colorful, gilded, stylized patterns. In the center of the main hall stands the bimah, and on a platform near the eastern wall stands the monumental Aron Kodesh made of white marble, surrounded by a columned balustrade and topped by a large golden half-dome topped with a crown. Sermons were once delivered in two languages at the Tempel Synagogue: Polish and German. Rabbi Ozjasz Thon, whose sermons drew large crowds, was associated with the Tempel Synagogue. In addition to religious ceremonies, the Tempel Synagogue hosts numerous concerts, performances, and events. For years, the synagogue has been the stage for the Jewish Culture Festival. A special event is the Days of Judaism in the Catholic Church, organized here in conjunction with the Archdiocese of Krakow.
The Tempel Synagogue is open to visitors.
The Remu Synagogue
Szeroka 40
Entry donation: PLN 10 / 15
Open hours:
Summer season: 10:00 – 18:00
Winter season: 10:00-16:00
Saturdays and Jewish holidays closed
This synagogue that has stood here for centuries is the holiest place in Krakow for all Jews.
The Hebrew inscription on the gate reads: “This is the Gate to the New Synagogue of Blessed Memory – the Remuh.”
Built around 1558 in the Renaissance style, it was founded by the merchant and royal banker Izrael Isserles Auerbach. He built it for his son – the scholar and eminent Talmud commentator, the Krakow Rabbi Moses Isserles, known as the Remuh. On the eastern wall of the prayer hall stands the original, late Renaissance, carved stone Aron Kodesh, dating from the second half of the 16th century. It is topped by a rectangular slab with the tablets of the Ten Commandments, set on a pedestal with a Hebrew verse.
The Torah scroll niche is closed by a double-leafed wooden door with Art Nouveau decoration. In the center of the main hall is a reconstructed bimah surrounded by a wrought-iron latticework, whose double doors, decorated with gilded bas-reliefs, date from the 18th century. Next to the synagogue is a Jewish cemetery, founded in the mid-16th century, one of the oldest in Europe. It is known as the Remuh Cemetery because Moses Isserles is buried there. Every anniversary of his death, devout Jews from around the world visit the rabbi’s grave.
Thanks to the efforts of the Jewish Community and the support of specialists from the Social Renewal Committee and the Małopolska Voivodeship Office, the Remuh Synagogue has been restored to its former glory.
Currently, the Remuh Synagogue is the Main Synagogue of the Jewish Community in Krakow. Daily and holiday prayers are held there.
Daily prayers: Shacharit: 8:30
The Kupa Synagogue
Miodowa 27
Entry donation: PLN 10 / 15
Open hours:
Summer season: 10:00 – 18:00
Winter season: 10:00-16:00
Saturdays and Jewish holidays closed
The synagogue stands along the northern line of the former defensive walls of Kazimierz, on a plot between Warszauera and Miodowa Streets. Currently, it also houses the office of the Krakow Jewish Religious Community. The Baroque-style synagogue, with its simple form covered by a gable roof, features tall, semicircular windows, the only elements indicating its sacred character. It was built in 1643 thanks to contributions from Kazimierz goldsmiths (the Hebrew word “kupa” means the contribution of community members, the treasure of the kahal—hence the name of the synagogue).
The synagogue’s prayer hall is richly decorated with paintings on the walls and ceiling. On the eastern wall, between two windows, is the seventeenth-century Baroque Aron Kodesh. On the first floor, there is a women’s gallery, open on three sides to the main hall, and on its balustrade is a complete cycle of the signs of the Zodiac. To the left of the Aron Kodesh is a rectangular polychrome depicting a table for 12 showbreads, symbolizing the Twelve Tribes of Israel.
It was here, in August 1945, that the first post-war pogrom in Poland took place.
On Friday evenings, members of the Jewish Community meet in this synagogue for Shabbat dinners. During Jewish holidays, such as Rosh Hashanah, Purim, Hanukkah, Passover, and Simchat Torah, festive holiday meals are held after prayers.
The Kupa Synagogue is currently closed to visitors.
The Isaac Synagogue
Kupa 18
It is located at the intersection of Kupa and Izaaka Streets. This early Baroque building was opened in 1644. It was funded by Izaak Jakubowicz, a merchant and head of the Kazimierz Kahal. On the main façade, above the gate, is an arcaded porch, accessed symmetrically from two sides by stairs. This porch provides access to the women’s gallery, which is connected to the synagogue interior by semicircular arcades. The synagogue’s main prayer hall is topped with a vaulted ceiling with rich stucco decoration. Fragments of 17th- and 18th-century polychromes, discovered during conservation work, adorn the walls of the main hall and the women’s gallery, featuring liturgical texts in decorative frames. In the center of the synagogue’s eastern wall is the
reconstructed early Baroque Aron Kodesh, with convex tablets of the Ten Commandments topped with a crown above it.
The Izaak Synagogue is owned by the Community. Currently, thanks to the efforts of the Jewish Community and financial resources from the Social Renewal Committee and the Department of Renovation of Krakow Monuments and National Heritage, conservation work is underway in the synagogue.
The Old Synagogue
Szeroka 24
Krakow Museum – Old Synagogue
The Old Synagogue is a symbol of the history and traditions of Krakow’s Jews, as it served as the central center of Jewish religious life in Krakow until the outbreak of World War II. Its construction dates back to 1407 and is associated with the arrival of the Jewish diaspora from Prague, arriving in Krakow after the Prague pogrom of 1389. The Old Synagogue is a typical two-nave Gothic synagogue based on European models (Worms, Regensburg, and Prague), but stands out from its European counterparts for its larger size. In 1557, the synagogue was almost completely destroyed by fire, and this was not the only fire in its history. It was quickly rebuilt, albeit in a modified style, giving it a Renaissance character in keeping with the spirit of the era. Despite the extensive alterations, the synagogue’s two-nave layout was preserved, the cross-ribbed vaults were restored, and the walls were raised, topped with an arcaded attic. Construction work continued until 1570. The synagogue’s next major renovation would take many years. Only in 1900, due to its very poor technical and visual condition, was the Old Synagogue Reconstruction Committee established. The multi-stage construction work, carried out between 1904 and 1914, and between 1924 and 1925, significantly improved the synagogue’s condition and infrastructure, adding a Neo-Renaissance element to its unique architectural structure. During World War II, the Germans deliberately devastated the synagogue, converting it into storage. Liturgical furnishings, archival materials, and the priceless library were stolen or destroyed. The synagogue also suffered technical and architectural damage. Between 1956 and 1959, the Old Synagogue was rebuilt, restoring its unique appearance. The renovation was entirely financed from the state budget. In 1958, the Krakow Congregation of the Mosaic Faith officially donated the synagogue for museum purposes. Details about visiting the synagogue can be found on the website of the Old Synagogue Branch of the Krakow Historical Museum:
The High Synagogue
Józefa 38
The High Synagogue was built around 1556 under a privilege granted by Sigismund II Augustus, funded by an unspecified donor. Its construction can be compared to the synagogues established in the Venetian ghetto, where additional floors were added to a residential building intended for a synagogue. Undoubtedly, by Central European standards, it is a unique synagogue. During the Swedish Deluge, the synagogue was significantly damaged, but after these tragic events, renovations were undertaken. At the end of the 19th century, a building was added to the High Synagogue (currently 36 Józefa Street), housing a women’s gallery and an additional prayer room on the first floor. Like all Kraków synagogues, the High Synagogue was vandalized by the Germans during World War II, robbing it of its valuable liturgical furnishings. After the war, its walls served as warehouses. In 1966, the authorities handed the synagogue building over to the Monument Conservation Workshop (PKZ), which carried out appropriate renovations, thus saving this unique monument. To adapt the building to its new purpose, a number of structural changes were made: a staircase and additional entrances were constructed, the vaulting of the main hall was changed, and the glass roof structure, so characteristic of this building, was added at that time. The polychromes and the Aron Kodesh were also secured. In 2008, the High Synagogue building was partially reclaimed by the Jewish Community of Krakow. The fourth floor of the synagogue, in the communal section, houses, among others, the Krakow branch of the Social and Cultural Association of Jews in Poland.
The Poppera Synagogue
Szeroka 16
The Baroque synagogue building was founded in 1620 by one of the wealthiest Jews in Kazimierz – Wolf Bocian, also known as Wolf Popper. Through his marriage to Cyrla, daughter of a wealthy Kraków merchant, Juda Leib Landau, and his keen business acumen, he quickly amassed a considerable fortune. Unfortunately, his personal life was less prosperous. As Majer Bałaban writes: “On July 20, 1621, he became a widower. On December 1, 1625, he returned from a journey and suddenly fell ill. Feeling close to death, he summoned the proconsul of Kazimierz to his home (…) and made his will in their presence.” After Bocian’s death, a succession battle began in Kazimierz, resulting in the transfer of the ornate synagogue to the Jewish community in Kazimierz around 1653. The Popper Synagogue underwent significant renovation only in 1827, when a women’s gallery was added, the roof and stairs were rebuilt, and the synagogue courtyard was separated from Szeroka Street by a gate that still stands today. The synagogue underwent numerous renovations. During World War II, the Germans did not spare this synagogue, severely damaging this unique monument. After the war, Jewish repatriates from the Soviet Union lived in the synagogue for several years. In 1956, the city authorities designated the building as a community center, evicting the Congregation, which immediately and successfully protested this decision. A thorough renovation of the synagogue was carried out between 1964 and 1967. Following the renovation, and with the consent of the Jewish Community of Kraków, the Popper Synagogue housed the Old Town Youth Cultural Center for many years. Currently, it is owned by the Jewish Community of Krakow, and since 2017 it has housed the Austeria bookstore.