Old Synagogue (Stara Synagoga)
Old Synagogue (Stara Synagoga) features on the Gingerguide audio walk through Kraków. Give it roughly ~30 min: enough to look, hear a two to three minute story on the spot, and ask the AI guide whatever the story leaves open.
- Type religious
- Suggested visit ~30 min
- Kraków Kraków guide
About Old Synagogue (Stara Synagoga)
The oldest surviving synagogue in Poland anchors the south end of Szeroka Street, a fortress-like Renaissance prayer hall that now tells the story of Kraków's Jews.
The Old Synagogue, or Stara Synagoga, stands at ul. Szeroka 24 in Kazimierz and is the oldest surviving synagogue building in Poland, one of the most important monuments of Jewish architecture in Europe. First built in the late 15th century, it was rebuilt in Renaissance form after a fire, around 1570, in a design linked to the Italian architect Matteo Gucci. It is a fortress-type, two-nave prayer hall with a central bimah enclosed by a wrought-iron cage.
During the German occupation in the Second World War the Nazis desecrated and looted the building, destroyed its interior fittings, and used it as a warehouse; a plaque records that a group of Poles was executed against its wall in 1943. Restored chiefly between 1956 and 1959, it now houses a museum of the history and culture of Kraków's Jews as a branch of the Museum of Kraków, at the southern end of Szeroka Street.
Did you know? The Old Synagogue is the oldest surviving synagogue building in Poland and one of the most important monuments of Jewish architecture in Europe, first built in the late fifteenth century.
How long is a visit to Old Synagogue (Stara Synagoga)?
Set aside roughly ~30 min for Old Synagogue (Stara Synagoga). That covers a good look and the narrated story, and because you set the pace you can always stay on.
Is Old Synagogue (Stara Synagoga) worth your time?
Old Synagogue (Stara Synagoga) is among the 20 narrated highlights the Gingerguide team chose for Kraków, so it is worth a look. Hear the story for the context, then ask the AI guide for anything more.
Nearby stops in Kraków
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Hear the story of Old Synagogue (Stara Synagoga)
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