Szeroka Street, Krakow

Szeroka Street has long been considered the heart of the Jewish quarter. Unlike most streets, Szeroka is unusually wide—its name literally means “Broad Street”—and for centuries it functioned more like a communal square than a typical roadway. Its origins date to the Middle Ages, when Kazimierz was a separate town. By the 15th and 16th centuries, as the Jewish community settled here after being relocated from Kraków proper, Szeroka Street became the focal point of Jewish religious, social, and economic life.

Several of Kraków’s most important synagogues stand directly on Szeroka Street. These include the Old Synagogue—the oldest surviving Jewish prayer house in Poland—and the Remuh Synagogue, founded in the 1550s and still an active place of worship. Adjacent to the Remuh Synagogue lies the historic Remuh Cemetery, one of the oldest Jewish burial grounds in the country, where notable rabbis, scholars, and community leaders from the 16th and 17th centuries are buried. Walking down Szeroka Street, visitors also encounter former prayer houses, historic townhouses, and the preserved façades of old Jewish institutions that once shaped everyday life in Kazimierz.

In the 19th century, as restrictions on movement eased and Jews reintegrated with the rest of Kraków, Szeroka Street remained a symbolic center and later became a place of memory after the devastation of World War II. In the postwar years, the area saw a gradual revival, and today it blends heritage with contemporary culture. Cafés, restaurants serving traditional Jewish dishes, museums, and small shops line the street, while plaques and markers recall the people and events that once defined the neighborhood.