Churches & monasteries

Remuh Synagogue

At 40 Szeroka Street stands the second oldest synagogue in Kraków — the Renaissance Remuh Synagogue, built by the merchant and royal banker Israel ben Josef in honour of his wife Malka. Originally called the “New” synagogue, it now bears the name of the famed rabbi Moses Isserles — the founder's son — after the Hebrew acronym Remuh.

Built, burnt, rebuilt

Royal consent was granted on 12 November 1556, although the foundation plaque points to 1553 — probably the moment the decision to build was taken. A fire on 1 April 1557 consumed the first building; the masonry rebuilding began in 1558 under the master mason Stanisław Baranek. The main hall measures 10.4 by 5.1 m and is covered by a barrel vault; a women's gallery was added on the west side in 1829–1830.

The Remuh cemetery

Next door stretches a cemetery founded in 1551, with valuable matzevot from the 16th to 18th centuries. Here lies Moses Isserles, who died in 1572, together with his first wife Golda, daughter of Szlomo Szachna. The epitaph on Remuh's tombstone reads: “From Moses there arose no one equal to Moses”.

Life after the war

During the occupation the synagogue served the Germans as a warehouse for corpses and firefighting equipment; its furnishings were removed or destroyed. The Congregation regained it in 1947, a thorough renovation ran from 1958 to 1968, and another from 2008 to 2013, costing about PLN 3.16 million. In 2022 the Remuh was one of only two active synagogues in Kraków and the only one holding regular services in the Orthodox tradition. Best combined with a stroll along Szeroka Street, the heart of the former Jewish quarter.