HERITAGE JOURNEY · 8 DAYS · THREE CAPITALS
Three Jewish Capitals: Prague, Vienna, Budapest
A route for families whose history unfolded in the three capitals of Habsburg Mitteleuropa before 1938 — in the Prague of the Maharal and Kafka, in the Vienna of Herzl and Freud, in the Budapest of the Dohány Synagogue and Theodor Wienicz. Eight days, one Mercedes V-Class, five days of scholar accompaniment coordinated among Czech, Austrian, and Hungarian historians. The route omits the Polish lands by design — built for families whose pre-war life was anchored in the capitals of Mitteleuropa, not in the Galician shtetls.
Overview
Dla kogo ta podróż
Trasa dzień po dniu
Plan podróży
Arrival and Josefov Orientation
Arrival at Václav Havel Airport (PRG). Meet and greet, V-Class to a premium 5-star hotel in the Old Town, within walking distance of Josefov. Welcome kosher dinner at the hotel. A short orientation walk through Josefov: Pařížská (the main avenue), Maiselova, and the location of the Altneuschul and the Old Cemetery.
Miejsca: Josefov — orientation · Pařížská
Posiłki: Welcome kosher dinner (certified Josefov catering)
Josefov Deep Dive — Altneuschul, Old Cemetery, Pinkas
A full day with a Czech scholar. The Altneuschul (thirteenth century, Europe's oldest active synagogue, the site of the Maharal and Golem legends). The Old Jewish Cemetery (12,000 matzevot in twelve layers, the oldest from 1439). The grave of the Maharal — with the stones of petitions written by visitors. The Maisel Synagogue (exhibition on the history of the Jews of Bohemia). Kosher lunch in Josefov. In the afternoon, the Pinkas Synagogue — a memorial bearing the names of 77,297 Czech Holocaust victims (each name written by hand on the walls). The Spanish Synagogue (nineteenth century, Moorish style). Return to the hotel in the evening, kosher dinner.
Miejsca: Altneuschul · Old Cemetery · Grave of the Maharal · Maisel Synagogue · Pinkas Synagogue · Spanish Synagogue
Posiłki: Breakfast at the hotel, kosher lunch in Josefov, kosher dinner
Terezín — The Showpiece Ghetto
Departure at 9:00 for Terezín, an hour by V-Class. The Small Fortress (Gestapo prison). Kosher lunch box. The Large Fortress — the grounds of the Nazi ghetto created for Czech and German Jews as a transit point before the transports to Auschwitz, Treblinka, and Sobibor. The Ghetto Museum, the Magdeburg Barracks Museum (an exhibition of art made in the ghetto — works of Petr Kien, Karel Ančerl), and the Jewish Cemetery (30,000 graves). Return to Prague around 18:00. Quiet kosher dinner.
Miejsca: Small Fortress · Large Fortress · Ghetto Museum · Terezín Cemetery
Posiłki: Breakfast at the hotel, kosher lunch box, quiet kosher dinner
Transfer and Leopoldstadt Orientation
Departure at 9:00, Prague to Vienna transfer, about four hours by V-Class. Kosher lunch box. Arrival around 14:00, check-in at a premium 5-star hotel in Innere Stadt or Leopoldstadt. Orientation in Leopoldstadt (the IInd district): the monument on Judenplatz (Library, Rachel Whiteread, 2000), the Misrachi House, the locations of the synagogues razed in the November Pogrom of 1938 (chiefly Tempelgasse, Schmalzhofgasse). Kosher dinner at a restaurant under the supervision of the Wiener Beit Din.
Miejsca: Leopoldstadt — orientation · Judenplatz Memorial · Misrachi House
Posiłki: Breakfast at the Prague hotel, kosher lunch box, kosher dinner in Vienna
Stadttempel and Jüdisches Museum
A full day with a Vienna scholar. The Stadttempel (Seitenstettengasse 4) — the only synagogue to survive the November Pogrom of 1938 out of the 94 in Vienna in that year. A walk through the Innere Stadt in the footsteps of the Jewish bourgeoisie (the Wittgenstein home on Alleegasse, Café Central, Café Landtmann, the Sigmund Freud house at Berggasse 19, now a museum). The Jüdisches Museum Wien — an exhibition on the history of the community from the twelfth century. Mehadrin kosher lunch. In the afternoon, the Zentralfriedhof, Tor IV (Jewish section, from 1879) — the Theodor Herzl memorial, the graves of Arthur Schnitzler and Friedrich Torberg. Return to the hotel in the evening, kosher dinner.
Miejsca: Stadttempel · Freud House · Jüdisches Museum Wien · Zentralfriedhof Tor IV
Posiłki: Breakfast at the hotel, Mehadrin kosher lunch, kosher dinner
Transfer and Erzsébetváros
Departure at 9:00, Vienna to Budapest transfer, about two hours and forty minutes by V-Class. Kosher lunch box. Arrival at 13:30, check-in at a premium 5-star hotel (Pest side). Orientation in Erzsébetváros (the VIIth district): the exterior of the Dohány Synagogue, the exterior of the Kazinczy Synagogue, the streets Király, Dob, Wesselényi. Kosher dinner (Budapest has a strong network of Glatt vendors under Orthodox rabbinical supervision).
Miejsca: Erzsébetváros — orientation · Dohány Synagogue (exterior) · Kazinczy Synagogue (exterior)
Posiłki: Breakfast at the Vienna hotel, kosher lunch box, kosher dinner in Budapest
Dohány, Kazinczy, Kozma Cemetery, Shoes on the Danube
A full day with a Hungarian scholar. The Dohány Synagogue (Europe's largest active synagogue, Neolog, Moorish style 1859). The Holocaust Memorial Park with Raoul Wallenberg's tree (every leaf bearing a victim's name). The Kazinczy Synagogue (Orthodox, in daily use, the heart of the Orthodox community). Mehadrin kosher lunch. In the afternoon, Kozma Cemetery (Hungary's largest Jewish cemetery, mausoleums of the Budapest bourgeoisie, a section for victims of the 1944-45 ghetto). In the evening, the memorial "Cipők a Duna-parton" (Shoes on the Danube) — 60 pairs of iron shoes, the monument to Jews murdered at the Danube by the Arrow Cross in the winter of 1944-1945. Kaddish. Farewell kosher dinner.
Miejsca: Dohány Synagogue · Wallenberg Park · Kazinczy Synagogue · Kozma Cemetery · Shoes on the Danube
Posiłki: Breakfast at the hotel, Mehadrin kosher lunch, farewell kosher dinner
Wallenberg House and Departure from BUD
A short morning visit to Raoul Wallenberg's house and to the International Red Cross building (the place where the schutzpass was issued, saving tens of thousands in 1944). V-Class transfer to Ferenc Liszt (BUD) according to the ticket. Farewell.
Miejsca: Wallenberg House · Wallenberg Monument
Posiłki: Breakfast at the hotel, flexible lunch
W cenie
Co jest zawarte
- ✓ Mercedes V-Class for the entire journey (eight days, approximately 850 kilometres, three countries, one chauffeur)
- ✓ Premium 5-star hotels in Prague (3 nights), Vienna (2 nights), Budapest (2 nights)
- ✓ Five days of scholar accompaniment (Czech, Austrian, Hungarian historians)
- ✓ Pre-trip genealogical research across three countries (eight to twelve weeks beforehand)
- ✓ Complete kosher operation — certified vendors in Prague (Chabad), Vienna (Wiener Beit Din), Budapest (Orthodox rabbinate)
- ✓ Entry to the Josefov complex (six synagogues and the Old Cemetery), the Terezín Memorial, the Stadttempel, the Jüdisches Museum Wien, the Freud House, the Dohány Synagogue, the Kazinczy Synagogue, the Jewish Museum in Budapest
- ✓ Meet and greet at PRG, farewell transfer to BUD
- ✓ Welcome kosher dinner in Prague, farewell kosher dinner in Budapest
- ✓ Family dossier: cadastral maps of three cities, local contacts
- ✓ our team available 24/7
- ✓ Operator-side travel insurance
Nie zawarte
Co poza zakresem
- — Airfares to Prague and from Budapest
- — Schengen visas if required
- — Personal health insurance
- — Personal expenses, gratuities
- — Meals not listed in the programme
Inwestycja
Budżet
Opcje dodatkowe
Rozszerzenia podróży
Ultra-luxury hotel upgrade
Palace-class hotels: Vienna Hotel Sacher/Imperial class, Prague Four Seasons Old Town class, Budapest Four Seasons Gresham Palace class.
Cantor for Shabbat
A cantor accompanying the family for Shabbat (usually in Prague or Vienna) — Kabbalat Shabbat, coordination with the local synagogue, Shabbat zmirot.
Genealogy across three countries
Deeper genealogical work across three countries (Národní archiv Prague, Österreichisches Staatsarchiv Vienna, Magyar Nemzeti Levéltár Budapest). Ten to twelve weeks.
Private museum access after hours
After-hours access to selected museums (Jüdisches Museum Wien, Pinkas Synagogue in Prague) for families seeking silence.
Documentary filmmaker
A documentary filmmaker across all eight days. Delivery of a 30-45 minute film within four months.
Salzburg or Bratislava extension
Extending the route to include Salzburg (Austria, the former community of the Mozart-Bauer milieu) or Bratislava (Slovakia, the last surviving synagogue, a significant cemetery, a site associated with the Chatam Sofer). Each extension adds a day.
FAQ
Pytania o tę trasę
Does this route fit if my family is from Galicia?
Not necessarily. Three Jewish Capitals is designed for families of Mitteleuropa without Polish or Galician roots — typically an assimilated Prague family from Pařížská, a Vienna family from Leopoldstadt, a Neolog family from Erzsébetváros. If the family came from Galicia (Tarnów, Kraków, Lwów), we recommend Roots of Galicia (Poland) or Habsburg Jewish Heritage (Poland and three capitals). The routes are complementary, not competing.
Why is Poland missing from the route?
A deliberate narrative decision. The Polish chapter of the Holocaust (Auschwitz, the Warsaw Ghetto, Bełżec, Treblinka) requires a separate journey with a Polish scholar and a Polish kosher chain. To "tack on Auschwitz at the end of a Prague-Vienna-Budapest journey" would be logistically chaotic (Auschwitz is 4h from Budapest by V-Class) and substantively superficial. Three Jewish Capitals preserves narrative coherence as the history of three Habsburg cities.
Is the "Shoes on the Danube" memorial suitable for all passengers?
Yes, but it requires emotional preparation. The Cipők a Duna-parton memorial is one of the most emotionally moving memorial installations in Europe. Sixty pairs of iron shoes lie along the Danube embankment at the place where, in the winter of 1944-1945, the Arrow Cross (Hungarian fascists, allies of the Third Reich) forced Jews to remove their shoes (which were valuable and resold) and shot them over the river so the bodies fell into the Danube. The visit takes 30-60 minutes, in the evening (the best moment of light and silence). The scholar prepares the family contextually earlier during the day. Kaddish is said if the family wishes.
How does kosher work across the three countries?
Prague — Prague Chabad vendors and several certified restaurants in Josefov, with the mehadrin standard acceptable. Vienna — the best kosher in Central Europe, with vendors under the supervision of the Wiener Beit Din meeting glatt mehadrin and bishul Yisroel, and high-quality restaurants. Budapest — a strong network of vendors under Orthodox rabbinical supervision, restaurants in Erzsébetváros, glatt mehadrin as standard. The three capitals have a markedly better kosher infrastructure than the Polish cities (apart from Kraków) — for that reason this route is comfortable for families observing a high level of kashrut.
Is the Stadttempel accessible to visitors?
Yes, but access requires coordination 48 hours in advance with the Austrian security services (the Stadttempel is Vienna's only active synagogue and an object protected by police since the terrorist attack of 1981). Every guest undergoes a security check at entry. We coordinate registration of guests on the Stadttempel rabbinate's list in line with the route schedule.
Can I add Salzburg or Bratislava?
Yes. Salzburg (Austria) is an optional stop between Prague and Vienna (four hours from Prague) — the former rabbinic community, today a small remembrance. Bratislava is one hour from Vienna — the Old Synagogue of 1863 (surviving the war), a significant cemetery with the grave of the Chatam Sofer (Moses Schreiber, one of the most important figures in nineteenth-century rabbinic Judaism). Each extension adds a day to the route.
Begin
Rozpocznij swoją Heritage Journey
We design Three Jewish Capitals for families whose pre-war life was anchored in the capitals of Mitteleuropa. We begin with a written brief — the family history across three cities, archival documents, level of observance, and Shabbat planning. After the initial exchange we prepare an itinerary with a budget broken out by line. Acceptance triggers the genealogy and the hotel reservations — closed ten to twelve weeks before the family's arrival. We invite you to a conversation.
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