Wrocław
Polska / dolnośląskie
 | Synagogues, prayer houses and others |  | Cemeteries |  | Places of martyrology |  | Judaica in museums |  | Andere |
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History
Tamara Włodarczyk
Wroclaw was a town with one of the largest concentrations of Jews in Central Europe during the Middle Ages. We know for certain that there was already a kehilla here in the first half of the 12th century. The founders of the community were possibly Jewish refugees from Prague, according to the Czech chronicler Kosmas.
The oldest tangible evidence of the Jewish presence in Wroclaw is the tombstone of the cantor Dawid, son of Sar Szalom, who died on the 4th of August1203. This is undoubtedly proof that the cemetery already existed at the turn of the 12th and the 13th centuries.
Originally, the legal status of the Jews from Wroclaw was very favorable, as they were under the specific protection of a Duke. This changed in 1267 when the new regulations of the synod of the Provincial Archdiocese of Gniezno in Wrocław were introduced. Jewish liberties were restricted and special settlement zones (ghettos) were created for them. Each town had to have only one such zone. Moreover, it could have only one ghetto and the Jews were allowed just one synagogue for their religious gatherings.
Between 1273 and 1290 dukes issued many documents and privileges in order to protect the Jewish community. A document of this kind was issued by Duke Henry IV Probus (Henryk IV Prawy) after 1273 which guaranteed the Jews from Wroclaw personal safety and security of their property and also the sanctity of cemeteries. These privileges were approved by Duke Henry V (Henryk V Gruby).
Jews were traders, money lenders (they would give loans) and some were craftsmen. There were butchers, bakers and cooks. There were as many as 12 Jewish slaughterhouses in Wroclaw at the beginning of the 14th century.
The position of Jews worsened considerably in the 14th century. In 1349 and 1360 there were pogroms in the city, and the Jews were driven out of Wroclaw. There had been 70 Jewish families living in the city before the pogrom in 1349, whereas afterwards only five or six remained. However, Jews settled again in Wroclaw soon after.
Jan Kapistrano, a Franciscan and an inquisitor, came to the city in 1453. During his sermons he accused Jews of various sacrileges, (desecrating the Host or kidnapping and killing Christian children). The outcome of these sermons was a trial with terrible consequences – 41 Jews were burnt to death at what is now Plac Solny
Summary
| Province: | dolnośląskie / inne (before 1939) |
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| County: | wrocławski / Breslau (before 1939) |
| Community: | Wrocław / Hauptstadt Breslau [miasto stołeczne Wrocław] (before 1939) |
| Other names: | Vratislavia lub Budorgis [łac.] Vratislav Vroclav [j.czeski] Breslau [j.niemiecki] ורוצלב [j.hebrajski] Вроцлав [j. rosyjski] |
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Location
Adam Marczewski
Wrocław jest miastem na prawach powiatu, położonym w południowo zachodniej Polsce. Leży na Nizinie Śląskiej, w Pradolinie Wrocławskiej, nad rzeką Odrą i jej czterema dopływami.
Wrocław jest nazywany stolicą Dolnego Śląska i Wenecją Północy.
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