Old Synagogue in Kraków

The Old Synagogue in Kraków, on Szeroka Street in the historic Jewish district of Kazimierz ("ka-ZHEE-myesh"), is the oldest surviving synagogue building in Poland and one of the most important monuments of Jewish architecture in Europe. For centuries it was the heart of one of the largest Jewish communities on the continent. Today it is a branch of the Museum of Kraków, telling the story of Kraków's Jews – an essential stop for anyone exploring Kazimierz.

Where it is

Kazimierz lies just south-east of Kraków's Old Town, inside the city's UNESCO World Heritage area. The synagogue stands at the south end of Szeroka Street, about a 20-minute walk from the Main Market Square and 10–15 minutes from Wawel Castle. Trams stop nearby at Miodowa and Stradom. Kraków is easy to reach by train from Warsaw or Katowice, and the airport in Balice has a direct rail link to the city center.

A history spanning five centuries

The synagogue was most likely built by Jews who came to Kraków from Bohemia after the Prague pogrom of 1389. Traditional dates of 1407 or 1492 circulate, but historians now place the building around the turn of the 16th century. After a major fire in 1557, the Florentine architect Matteo Gucci rebuilt it in Renaissance style, keeping the Gothic two-aisle hall and ribbed vault resting on two slender columns.

In 1794, during the uprising against Russia and Prussia, Tadeusz Kościuszko – also a hero of the American Revolutionary War – spoke here, calling on Kraków's Jews to fight for their shared homeland. Under Nazi German occupation the interior was looted and the hall used as a storeroom; on October 28, 1943, thirty Poles were executed against its walls. The ruined building was handed over for museum use in 1958 and restored by 1959.

What you'll see inside

The main prayer hall is striking for its height and simplicity. At its center stands the bimah, the raised platform for reading the Torah, enclosed by a wrought-iron canopy (the original was destroyed in the war). On the east wall is a late-Renaissance stone Torah ark with a Hebrew inscription from the Book of Proverbs.

The permanent exhibition, "The History and Culture of Kraków's Jews," covers religious life and holidays, family life (in the former women's gallery) and the fate of the community during the Holocaust. Plan about an hour.

Tickets and opening hours (as of October 2026)

• Address: ul. Szeroka 24, 31-053 Kraków.
• Opening hours: Monday 10 am–3 pm, Tuesday–Sunday 9 am–5 pm; last entry 30 minutes before closing. The museum lists closure days, including October 8, November 1, 11 and 12, and several December dates in 2026.
• Tickets: regular PLN 22, reduced PLN 16, family PLN 44. Admission is free on Mondays, online or at the box office while tickets last.
• Contact: +48 12 422 09 62, starasynagoga@muzeumkrakowa.pl.

The building is no longer a working house of prayer, but it is a place of remembrance, so dress and behave respectfully.

Is it worth visiting?

Yes – especially if you combine it with a walk along Szeroka Street. Nearby are the Remuh Synagogue with its old cemetery, and the High, Izaak and Tempel synagogues. In summer, the square outside hosts the closing concert of the Jewish Culture Festival. Afterwards, grab a snack at Plac Nowy or cross the Bernatka footbridge to Podgórze, where the wartime ghetto was located.