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Kazimierz
[Yiddish, Kuzmir] - A city founded in the
fourteenth century by Kazimierz III the Great; by the early
nineteenth
century, it had became one of Krakow's constituent
neighborhoods.
According to the historical records, Jews had been living in
Kazimierz
since 1389. The Community's population began to grow in the
late
fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, when Jews who had
been forced
to leave Krak�w settled there, as did those who had
originally come from
Bohemia and Moravia. In 1485, there were Jewish baths in
Kazimierz;
three years later, Kazimierz had its own Jewish market
square. It was
during that period that its first synagogue was probably
built--the one
that is known today as the "Old Synagogue".
The local Jews did not look favorably on the influx of
newcomers
from other countries. In the early sixteenth century,
Kazimierz had two
Communities--Polish and Czech, which merged over time. As
its population
grew, the Kazimierz Community expanded territorially as
well. The Jews
bought many buildings and parcels of land from Christians.
The Jewish
quarter was delineated by the following present-day streets:
sw. Jozefa,
Bozego Ciala, Miodowa and Dajwor. It was surrounded by a
wall, with
three gates that were locked at night. In 1564, it was
granted the
privilege de non tolerandis christianis. In 1578, over 2,000
people were
living here, and by the first half of the seventeenth
century, it
already had approximately 4,500 residents. Overcrowding
meant the Jewish
quarter expanded yet again in 1608. An incomplete list from
the year
1635 includes 67 buildings erected in new areas.
The Kazimierz Community had a well-developed system of
local
government, whose activities were based on the oldest of the
Community
statutes, dating back to 1595, which still survive today. It
ran a broad
range of charitable activities, and had a hospital,
Community and court
buildings, as well as a shelter for the homeless and others
in need of
care. The Community, as one of the largest and wealthiest in
the Polish
lands, played an important role in the Jewish Sejm (Diet).
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In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries,
more synagogues were built: the High (approx. 1556), Remuh
(approx.
1572), that of Wolf Popper (Stork) (1620), Kupa (1643), and
the
Synagogue of Isaac (approx. 1644). During this period, the
city became a
center of Talmudic studies of international significance.
Jakub Polak
was its first leading scholar and rabbi. He founded the
yeshiva, which
very quickly began attracting students from faraway cities.
His pupils
and successors were: Shalom Shachna, Moshe Fishel, and Moshe
Isserles.
Natan Spira, Meir Gedalia, Joel Sirkes, and Yom Tov Lippman
were also
active here.
The expansion of the Kazimierz Community was made
possible by its
residents' prosperity, as one of the wealthiest Jewish
centers from the
sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries. This wealth was based
on trade
and credit-related activities. Jews engaged in various kinds
of trade.
In the customs registers of the late sixteenth century,
hides, wax,
honey and "eastern goods" (textiles and carpets) were
mentioned most
frequently. In the mid-seventeenth century, larger
quantities of lead,
salted fish, wool, and eastern spices (cinnamon, ginger and
sugar) were
being traded, as well as Ruthenian spirits. The trade in
Hebrew books
was growing. In addition, traditional trade in oxen,
Silesian
broadcloth, and wine also continued. In addition, the great
merchants
ran credit operations; these included this group's
wealthiest members,
such as Level Markovich, Levek Landau, Wolf Bocian, Shlomo
Melles,
Shlomo Jakubovich.
Crafts occupied an important place in the economic life
of
Kazimierz's Jewish community. From 1613, there was a Jewish
furriers'
guild, and soon there appeared others-butchers', torbiarzy
(notions
peddlers), barbers', goldsmiths', tanners', and brewers'.
Several dozen
other trades did not form guilds: these included tailors,
cobblers,
bakers, weavers, bookbinders and many others. The economic
activities of
the Jews in Kazimierz prompted protests from Christian
merchants and
artisans. This led to the issuing of numerous restrictions,
and was
reflected in anti-Jewish literature (particularly [in the
writings] of
S. Miczynski).
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In the seventeenth century, Kazimierz was
damaged several times by fires, but the most extensive
destruction came
as the result of the Swedish invasions from 1655 to 1660.
Shortly
thereafter, the residents were decimated by the plague.
These events did
not affect the status of the Kazimierz Community, whose
position grew
stronger thanks to several of its wealthiest, influential
families;
gradually, however, the group of medium- and small-scale
merchants and
artisans grew poorer. This process was caused by an economic
collapse in
the Polish cities, shrinking markets, and competition with
the
Christian producers who strove to limit Jews' rights. In
1761, the
Polish Sejm (Parliament) passed legislation forbidding Jews
from trading
within Krakow's city limits. Like other Communities in
Poland,
Kazimierz was in debt (Jewish debts). The creditors were the
monasteries, the wealthy szlachta and Christian merchants.
Because the city was becoming poorer, its population
shrank. In
1775, 3,500 Jews lived there, occupying 220 buildings.
During this
period, many of Kazimierz's Jews moved to Warsaw. In the
late eighteenth
century, Chasidic influences were growing stronger,
particularly among
Kazimierz's poor. In 1785, a curse (cherem) was laid on the
supporters
of Chasidism. From 1795, the city was under Austrian ruler;
in 1802, it
was annexed to Krakow. In most of the sources from the
sixteenth to the
eighteenth centuries, the Jews living in Kazimierz were
called "Krakow
Jews" or were described as living "near Krakow", which
harked back to
the long history of ties between the Jews of Kazimierz and
Krak�w.
(H.W./CM)
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