Remuh Synagogue: Kazimierz's Living Place of Worship

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The Remuh Synagogue was founded in 1556 by Israel Isserles, a prosperous Kraków merchant, as an act of piety in memory of his son who had died young. Rabbi Moses Isserles, universally known as the Remuh, was then a young scholar — barely in his twenties — yet already recognised as a halakhic authority of considerable standing. In the decades that followed he would become one of the most important legal codifiers in the history of Judaism. His Mappah — glosses supplementing Joseph Karo's Shulchan Aruch with Ashkenazi customs and rulings — became the foundation of religious practice for European Jews and remains authoritative to this day.

The synagogue building, in the late Renaissance style, is modest in scale for a site of such significance: the main hall holds only a few dozen worshippers at a time. The exterior is restrained — a plain facade with a stone portal, no ornamental turrets or domes. The interior retains its original arrangement: a central bimah from which the Torah is read, an Aron HaKodesh set into the eastern wall housing the Torah scrolls, and the ner tamid — the eternal flame — burning above the ark. Pews for men run along the side walls; women worship in a separated gallery reached by a separate corridor.

The synagogue survived several serious trials. In 1557 a great fire swept through Kazimierz, damaging much of the district including the original building. Reconstruction followed almost immediately, preserving the original plan. Through the following centuries it served the Jewish community of Kazimierz, though the neighbouring Old Synagogue at Szeroka 24 remained the principal centre of religious life in the quarter. By the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the Remuh had become a familial and élite synagogue, associated with the leading merchant families of Kazimierz.

During the Second World War the Germans closed the Remuh Synagogue and ransacked its interior. Torah scrolls were looted or destroyed. After the war the building required thorough restoration. Through the efforts of the Kraków Jewish Community and international support, renovation was completed in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1957 the Remuh Synagogue resumed its religious function and has served as an active house of prayer without interruption since.

Today the Remuh Synagogue is among the most visited synagogues in Poland — by Jewish pilgrims and by visitors interested in history alike. Each year, on the anniversary of Rabbi Moses Isserles's death (18 Iyar on the Jewish calendar, typically in May), Jews from across the world gather to pray at his ohel. The Remuh Cemetery, directly adjoining the synagogue, is one of the oldest and best-preserved Jewish cemeteries in Poland.

The Remuh Synagogue represents the late Renaissance style of Kraków, though its modest form differs from the monumental churches and townhouses of the same era. The building is single-aisled, with an interior measuring approximately thirteen by ten metres — small for a synagogue of such importance. A barrel vault with lunettes covers the interior, characteristic of Renaissance construction in Lesser Poland.

The central liturgical element is the bimah — a raised platform at the centre of the hall from which the Torah is read and parts of the service conducted. At the Remuh, the bimah retains its traditional form: enclosed by a wrought-iron Renaissance grille, with a lectern for the reading of scrolls. The Aron HaKodesh on the eastern wall is decorated with gilding and carved plant motifs. Above the ark hangs the parochet — the Torah curtain — changed in keeping with the liturgical calendar.

The sixteenth-century entrance portal preserves its stone jambs and moulded cornice. Memorial tablets on the exterior walls record the dates of foundation and successive restorations. A Hebrew dedicatory inscription on the front wall commemorates the founder, Israel Isserles, and his son.

The Remuh Cemetery, part of the same complex, is as significant as the building itself. The oldest matzevot date to the sixteenth century and represent some of the finest examples of Jewish funerary art in Poland. The ohel of the Remuh — a vaulted chamber above Rabbi Moses Isserles's grave — is a place of continuous prayer for pilgrims. Silence is observed at the ohel even on the busiest days of the Kazimierz tourist season.

The Remuh Synagogue is an active place of worship, not a museum. Visiting takes place between services — opening hours for outside visitors are generally 09:00 to 18:00, with the exception of Shabbat (Friday evening to Saturday evening) and Jewish festivals, when the synagogue is closed to tourists. Prayer may be taking place at any time: in such cases, silence must be observed and one should refrain from entering the main hall.

Head covering is obligatory for all men without exception — kippot are available at the entrance for a nominal sum. Women enter the separated women's gallery; the entrance leads via a separate corridor. Photography inside the synagogue is prohibited — this includes mobile phones, cameras and tablets. In the Remuh Cemetery, photography is permitted, though with due respect for those at prayer at the ohel.

A donation on entry — in any amount — is the customary form of support for the community that maintains the synagogue. A donation box is beside the ticket desk. A formal entry fee (a few złoty) covers access to both the synagogue and the Remuh Cemetery.

Dress: clothing covering shoulders and knees for all visitors; the synagogue does not provide wraps or shawls, so dress accordingly before arriving. Loud conversation, eating and telephone use at the ohel are out of place — this is an active place of worship and pilgrimage, not an exhibition space.

Zasady wizyty:

• • Nakrycie głowy mężczyzn: wymagane
• • Separacja płci: tak (ortodoksyjna)
• • Fotografia: NIE dozwolona
• • Datek: oczekiwany

The Remuh Synagogue is at ul. Szeroka 40, in the heart of Kazimierz, three hundred metres from the Old Synagogue and five hundred metres from the Tempel Synagogue. Kazimierz is a pedestrian district — the Mercedes V-Class drops passengers on Szeroka Street via Miodowa or Dajwór. Parking for larger vehicles: the square on Dajwór Street or Bożego Ciała Street. Walking time from the Main Market Square is twenty minutes via Stradom and ul. Krakowska.