Objects

The beginnings of the Jewish population settling in Kraków probably date back to the great location. In 1304, the name Żydowska Street (currently Św. Anny Street) appeared for the first time. After the fire of 1494, when anti-Jewish speeches probably took place, King John I Olbracht ordered the Jews of Kraków to settle in Kazimierz. The local town books mentioned a bathhouse and a Jewish market (circulus judeorum) as early as 1486. It was probably located on the site of today's Szeroka Street, which over time became the centre of the Jewish Town. The area of the Jewish Town was later extended several times: towards the west - from the back of the buildings at Szeroka Street to Jakuba Street (1533?), towards the south - at the back of the buildings on the western section of Józefa Street (1553/54) and to the cemetery at St. Lawrence Church (1583), again westwards to Nowy Square with the former Jordan Court (1608). From the turn of the 15th and 16th century to the first half of the 17th century, synagogues as well as late Gothic and Renaissance townhouses were built in the Jewish Town area. A Remuh cemetery was established around 1552.