Kazimierz

29 th April 2014

The history of Kazimierz began on 27 th February 1335. On that day, in Sandomierz King Kazimierz the Great signed the Chartering Act of town named after him. Currently a part of Cracow was then a separate administrative entity.

The town, chartered according to Magdeburg law, was situated on the right bank of the Old Vistula River. Kazimierz was an impressive time. Its Main Square with dimensions of 195x195 metres .
The history of Jewish Kazimierz begins in 1495 when the King Jan Olbracht, urged local burghers who wanted to get rid of competitors , banned all Jews from Cracow  and resettled them to the other side of the Old Vistula River. Soon , large groups of Jews , chased out from Germany, Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, Italy and Spain found their new homeland here. They represented different traditions and customs, which caused controversies and religious disputes.

For centuries Kazimierz was known as the home of one of the largest Jewish communities in Europe. WWII closed this chapter . The Nazis murdered almost 70 thousand Cracow Jews.

The German Nazis broke the continuity of the world  whose culture and civilisation was inscribed in the world's history. more recently, Kazimierz has formed the setting for Steven Spielberg's famous movie  - Schindler's List.