Grodzka Gate (NN Theatre Centre)

The Grodzka Gate in Lublin, also known as the Jewish Gate, once linked the Christian Old Town with the Jewish quarter at the foot of the castle. Today it houses the Grodzka Gate – NN Theatre Centre, one of Poland's most respected memory institutions, dedicated to recovering the story of Jewish Lublin, a community destroyed in the Holocaust. Walking through the gate takes seconds; the exhibition inside will change how you see the whole city.

Where it is

Lublin (say "LOO-bleen") is eastern Poland's largest city, about 170 km (105 miles) southeast of Warsaw and roughly two hours away by direct train. The gate stands at the end of Grodzka Street in the Old Town, about 300 m from the Market Square and a short walk from Lublin Castle. City buses stop at "Muzeum Narodowe – Zamek" on Castle Square, from where stairs lead up to the gate.

History

The gate is a remnant of the first brick fortifications of Lublin, built from 1342 with the permission of King Casimir the Great. Together with the Kraków Gate, it was one of only two gates in the town walls. Its present Neoclassical look dates from 1785, when Dominik Merlini, court architect to King Stanisław August, remodeled it.

The name Jewish Gate reflects its role as the passage between the Christian town and the Jewish district of Podzamcze, a lively neighborhood that was destroyed by the Germans during World War II. In 2008–2009 engineers discovered that the gate's vault had been at risk of collapse ever since the war, and it was strengthened during a major renovation.

The NN Theatre Centre and its work

The NN Theatre was founded in 1990 by Tomasz Pietrasiewicz, and in 1998 the Centre became a municipal cultural institution occupying the gate and the neighboring houses. It runs an extensive oral history program, a visual archive of old Lublin, the Lublin Underground Route and the House of Words printing museum, and in 2013 it received the European Citizens' Prize.

Every year on March 16, the anniversary of the start of the liquidation of the Lublin ghetto in 1942, the Centre holds the Mystery of Light and Darkness: names of former residents are read at the gate and the lights of the old Jewish district go out, leaving a single prewar street lamp on Podwale Street – the Lamp of Memory – shining.

The "Lublin. Memory of the Place" exhibition

The permanent exhibition, in the gate since 2011, tells the story of prewar, multicultural Lublin and of the Jewish town that vanished. It can be visited only with a guide, at fixed times, in Polish or in English; the tour takes about an hour. Check dates and prices (as of October 2026) in the Centre's online ticket system, bilety.teatrnn.pl, or at the information point at Grodzka 21, and book ahead, as groups are small. Walking through the gate itself is possible at any time.

Is it worth visiting?

Yes – especially if you're interested in Jewish heritage or the history of World War II. Combine the one-hour tour with a walk down to the castle, through the area that was once the heart of the Jewish quarter. Nearby are Lublin Castle with its frescoed Holy Trinity Chapel, the Lublin Underground Route on the Market Square (run by the same Centre), and the 17th-century painted Fortune Cellar.