DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.25050#0321
Bawol with the Church of St Lawrence. Though left outside the
Kazimierz town walls, the quarter of Stradom at the foot of the
Wawel was also part of the new town.
The plan of Kazimierz was similar to the chartered plan of
Cracow. The four-gated town walls had the shape of an irregular
trapezium, overlooking the river on three sides. Some relics of
the wall survive at Paulinska Street, along the gardens of the
Augustinian monastery. The main axis of the town was the
present Krakowska Street, part of the route from Cracow to
Krzemionki and further southeast to Wieliczka and Bochnia. The
route crossed the main market place of Kazimierz (now Wolnica
Square), in whose northeastern corner the site for the Corpus
Christi parish church was set aside.
The population of Kazimierz towards the end of the four-
teenth century is estimated at about two or three thousand. The
main occupations were crafts (the clothiers guild being the most
important), and trade, boosted by the privileges granted by the
king. The newly founded town featured prominently in Casimir
the Great’s development plans, since the university, founded
before 1364, was to be located here. As Dlugosz records, the
construction of college buildings was begun here, but the project
fell through with the untimely death of the king.
From the end of the fifteenth century onwards, Kazimierz
became one of the largest centres of Jewish population in Poland,
as well as the main cultural centre. The Jews of Kazimierz were
subject to the king through the Palatine of Cracow. They were
organized in a community headed by the kehillah, or council.
Their main occupations were various forms of finance and trade,
which gave them a prominent place in the economic life of the
country. An especially densely populated Jewish district was the
eastern section of Kazimierz around Szeroka, Jakub and Ester
Streets and Nowy Square. Most of the synagogues and the
still-extant historic cemetery were built here. Very early on, the
Jewish community of Kazimierz could boast significant cultural
accomplishments. Its Talmudic school gained European fame.
306
Kazimierz town walls, the quarter of Stradom at the foot of the
Wawel was also part of the new town.
The plan of Kazimierz was similar to the chartered plan of
Cracow. The four-gated town walls had the shape of an irregular
trapezium, overlooking the river on three sides. Some relics of
the wall survive at Paulinska Street, along the gardens of the
Augustinian monastery. The main axis of the town was the
present Krakowska Street, part of the route from Cracow to
Krzemionki and further southeast to Wieliczka and Bochnia. The
route crossed the main market place of Kazimierz (now Wolnica
Square), in whose northeastern corner the site for the Corpus
Christi parish church was set aside.
The population of Kazimierz towards the end of the four-
teenth century is estimated at about two or three thousand. The
main occupations were crafts (the clothiers guild being the most
important), and trade, boosted by the privileges granted by the
king. The newly founded town featured prominently in Casimir
the Great’s development plans, since the university, founded
before 1364, was to be located here. As Dlugosz records, the
construction of college buildings was begun here, but the project
fell through with the untimely death of the king.
From the end of the fifteenth century onwards, Kazimierz
became one of the largest centres of Jewish population in Poland,
as well as the main cultural centre. The Jews of Kazimierz were
subject to the king through the Palatine of Cracow. They were
organized in a community headed by the kehillah, or council.
Their main occupations were various forms of finance and trade,
which gave them a prominent place in the economic life of the
country. An especially densely populated Jewish district was the
eastern section of Kazimierz around Szeroka, Jakub and Ester
Streets and Nowy Square. Most of the synagogues and the
still-extant historic cemetery were built here. Very early on, the
Jewish community of Kazimierz could boast significant cultural
accomplishments. Its Talmudic school gained European fame.
306