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As we approached the 17th century Izzak Synagogue, the guide said that it was named after its donor “Izzak the Rich, so called because he was the banker to the King.”
Six of their synagogues are still standing in Kazimierz. Only one of them, Ramuh, which is the smallest, continues to function as a regular place of worship, the rest are now kept as museums. “This is because only 97 practicing Jews are left in Krakow,” our guide said.” We were standing before the Old Synagogue which dated back to the 15th century.
“We know that Jews lived in the center of Krakow as early as the 14th century when King Kazimierz III (1333-70), passed a law ensuring certain rights for them.” The guide pointed to a building in the Market Square and said that used to belong to a wealthy Jewish family.
In another room there was on display the Honorary Oscar awarded in 2000 to Andrzej Wajda, the great Polish film director. Wajda had donated it to the Museum when he decided to come and live in Krakow.
Furthermore, there was “the first globe which mentioned the New World, made in the beginning of the 16th century,” the docent said.
Later that day I toured a different college nearby: the Institute of Oriental Philology at Jagiellonian University.
The guide then turned around and directed our attention to “that modern building.” He was pointing to a new high rise which reflected the last rays of sun from its glass windows. “The producers of Schindler’s List concluded that this was not the scene they could use for events that took place in the 1940s. They shot the movie instead in Kazimierz’ ul Szeroka.”
I asked him if he knew “Coach K,” the most famous Polish-American in sports I could recall. He did not. We Googled Coach K and when the sportscaster saw the full Polish name of Coach Mike Krzyzewski, he beamed and said: “Of course, he coached the American basketball team in last summer’s World Basketball Tournament.”
Just outside were remnants of the Ghetto wall with a commemorative plaque. “Look at them. The wall was like a Jewish tomb; the Germans wanted to taunt the Jews,” our guide said.
The Museum collection also included a wooden statue of King Kazimierz the Great who in 1364 founded the Krakow Academy, considered to be the predecessor of Colleggium Maius.
Three existed before Copernicus and hence available for his use: a 15th century German astrolabe, a 1370 Italian (Jan Brozek) astrolabe, and a 1054 Moorish (Arab) astrolabe from Spain.
There were also four astrolabes, key instruments for making astronomical measurements in medieval times. They were from different places and times.
“The original is in the library vault,” the docent said. In one room there were an assortment of wooden instruments “used by Copernicus in his astronomy experiments,” as the docent said.
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