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 Jewish Heritage Tour of Poland
(program proposal)
JEWISH ROOTS IN POLAND
The exact date of the arrival of the first Jews onto Polish soil is not known. The first written sign is the historically valuable notes of the Jewish traveler, merchant and diploma Ibrahim Ibn Jabuk. In account of the journey he made in 965 he mentioned Cracow and wrote about the first historic Duke o Poland, Mieszko I. The author was not the only one Jew traveling through Piast lands. The most certain is that there were many more: some of them have settled here and occupied themselves with commerce and crafts. In later times, banished from other countries, victims of intolerance, they looked to Poland for asylum and here they found it. Polish dukes and kings such as Kazimierz Wielki [1310-1370] appreciated their talents and usefulness for developing the country and thus granted them privileges and conditions for peaceful life. The time went on and through hundred of years Poland found itself host to the largest concentration of Jews in Europe. During the Holocaust, the vast majority of over 3 million strong Jewish community in Poland perished. Currently there are some 2 500 citizens of Jewish faith in Poland and 16 Jewish congregations.
Day 1
Warsaw
Group's arrival in Warsaw. Meeting your tour escort at the airport and transfer to your hotel for check-in. Welcome dinner will be served in one of the restaurants beautifully located in the Warsaw's Old Town. D
 Day 2
Warsaw
The tour of the Jewish sights in Warsaw includes: the Okopowa Jewish Cemetery founded in the beginning of 19th centruy where you can admire beautiful and richly ornamented gravestones displaying lions, deer, plant life and trees; sites connected with the Ghetto Uprising in 1943 - the Warsaw Ghetto Memorial, the Jundenrat Building, Anielewicz's Bunker and Umschlagplatz. Visit to the Nożyk Synagogue, the only synagogue in Warsaw to have survived war time was founded in 1902 by a wealthy merchant Zalman Nożyk and his wife. It was devastated during the occupation, however renovated after the war and subsequently reconstructed between 1977 and 1985. A meeting with representatives of the Jewish congregation. In the afternoon, a visit to the Orphanage for Jewish children in Warsaw managed by Janusz Korczak [Henryk Goldszmit]. You can see a special exhibition and children's works dedicated to Janusz Korczak. Dinner at the local restaurant. BD
Day 3
Warsaw / Tykocin / Treblinka / Warsaw
A drive to Tykocin, near Białystok, to see an early-Baroque masonry synagogue, built in 1642 and beautifully restored between 1974 and 1978, a typical example of Jewish religious architecture. Presently houses a museum. Lunch at a local restaurant in Tykocin. Afternoon visit to Treblinka, a site of a former Nazi concentration camp established in 1942 and closed in late 1943. Even in such a short time there were killed and murdered over 800 000 people mostly Jews from Warsaw Ghetto. Today there is a symbolic cemetery containing 17 000 stones, a monument and a mausoleum.
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Day 4
Warsaw / Kazimierz Dolny / Lublin / Warsaw
 A morning drive to Kazimierz, an ancient and highly picturesque Renaissance town, set above the Vistula river, known for its Jewish background. A visit to the 18th century synagogue and Jewish cemetery from 1851. Lunch at a local restaurant in Kazimierz Dolny. Continue to Lublin, one of the former centers of Hasidism. Lublin was once a major center of Jewish economic, social and religious life. A visit to the Talmudic Academy of Lublin - Yeshiva and the Old Synagogue. A visit to Majdanek - a former concentration camp established in October 1941 where 200.000 Jews were murdered. The tragic history is presented in the museum.
Drive back to Warsaw.
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Day 5
 Warsaw / Lodz / Warsaw
A full-day excursion to Łódź where about 240.000 Jews used to live before the war. From among them came great factory owners (Poznański, Sielberstejn), merchants, bankers, writers etc. Your visit includes: Poznański's beautiful big palace with exhibitions of mementos of A.Rubinstein, a great pianist of Jewish origin, and J. Kosiński, famous Polish writer who spent most of his life in the United States, the exhibition of "The Ghetto in Łódź".
A visit to the 19th century Jewish cemetery - the biggest one in Europe, a walk in the Old Town where the Ghetto was situated, passing schools, hospitals, factories and Jewish palaces. Dinner at a local restaurant.
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Day 6
 Warszaw / Oswiecim /Krakow
Drive to Oświęcim - the largest Nazi Death Camp, known as Auschwitz - Birkenau, where 4 million people, mostly Jews, perished. The organisation and building of the camp was started in 1940. At present, the National Museum of Oświęcim is situated on the site of the former camp. Arrival in Cracow and accommodation at the hotel. Dinner at a local restaurant.
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Day 7
Krakow
A visit to Kazimierz - a former Jewish district established in 1335 by great Polish King Kazimierz Wielki who appreciated Jewish talents and usefulness of developing the country. Surrounded by defensive walls soon the district became one of the European centers of Jewish religion, learning and culture. The period of rapid growth of the Hebrew population in Kazimierz, in the second half of the 15th century, witnessed the foundation of Poland's oldest Judaic shrine, the Old Synagogue. Now, it houses a museum devoted to the history of the Cracow Jews. Visit the 16th century Remuh Synagogue with the adjoining Renaissance cemetery, one of the best preserved cemeteries in Europe. Dinner at a local restaurant of "Ariel" - located in the Kazimierz district, the highlight is a series of Jewish music concerts performed every night. BD
Day 8
Krakow / Tarnow / Lancut / Krakow
 A morning drive to Tarnów to see the remnants of the 17th century synagogue and the Jewish cemetery. Afterwards, drive to Łańcut, the town mentioned for the first time in 1378. In the 15th century it was a dynamic center of trade and crafts. The Old Synagogue in the city was built in 1761 and carefully restored after the war. It is decorated with the beautiful Hebrew inscriptions, bas-reliefs and polychromes from the 18the and 19the centuries. Today it houses the museum and an exhibition of Judaics. Lunch at a local restaurant in Łańcut. Drive back to Cracow for an overnight stay BL
Day 9
Krakow
Breakfast at a hotel and departure transfer to the airport for your flight back home. B
In order to arrange airfare from any North American location to Warsaw, arrival and departure transfers, or any other services, call Panorama Travel & Tours Ltd.
Panorama Travel and Tours Ltd. reserves the right to making minor changes to the program without adversely affecting its quality.
 GENERAL TERMS & CONDITIONS
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 1-800-216-9316
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