The resurgent district of Kazimierz in Krakow might be best known amongst today's cool cats as a place to hang out with a beer and plan their latest avant garde theatre production, but it also the centre for a revival of Jewish culture.
In fact the Old Jewish Quarter, as it is also known, only boasts a Jewish community of 157 bona fide members, but thanks in part to Krakow's proximity to the pilgrimage point of Auschwitz and also to exciting ventures, such as the Jewish Festival and the Galicia Museum, Kazimierz is visited by hundreds of thousands of Jews each year.
For some years now members of the Jewish Community have complained of a lack of headquarters from which Jewish organisations could operate, and indeed co-operate - a problem which, with a little help from Bonnie Prince Charles looks set to be solved.
Three years ago the Prince of Wales in fact visited Krakow and Kazimierz and, since meeting with members of the Jewish Community, he has actively been helping them realise their plan to build a Jewish Centre, from consulting on architectural points to managing some of the legal procedures.
With the founding stone already being laid by Rabbi Edgar Gluck it looks like only a matter of time before the Jewish Community's dream is realised and they will be blessed with a five storey centre of communications located by the Temple Synagogue. And Prince Charles? Well the future King of England has already promised to attend the opening ceremony... We'll keep you posted! |