Józefa Street & The Hidden Bohemian Courtyards

Why is it significant?

Stroll along the uneven stone pavers of Józefa Street and absorb the charming bohemian atmosphere of its antique shops and art galleries.

Key Facts

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Stroll along the uneven stone pavers of Józefa Street and absorb the charming bohemian atmosphere of its antique shops and art galleries. Named in honor of Austrian Emperor Joseph II, who visited Kazimierz in 1780 and granted civil rights to its residents, this was the central commercial thoroughfare of the quarter. Look for the narrow gateway at number 12: step inside, and you find yourself in Krakow's most famous dual-level timber courtyard. Wooden balconies with peeling paint and wrought-iron railings connect two parallel rows of tenements, creating a private world hidden from street view.

This breathtaking courtyard between Józefa 12 and Meiselsa Street was chosen by Steven Spielberg in 1993 for key scenes in Schindler's List. Here, Spielberg filmed the dramatic liquidation of the ghetto, where furniture, family albums, and suitcases tumbled from wooden balconies onto the cobblestones. Because the real wartime ghetto across the river in Podgórze was heavily modernized, Spielberg used the timeless, authentic texture of Józefa Street to recreate 1943. Today, cozy cafe tables and blooming potted geraniums occupy the very stones where cameras captured cinematic history.

Look above the doorways along Józefa Street, and you will spot slanted chiselled indentations on the right-hand doorposts. These are the empty slots where mezuzot — small parchment scrolls containing the biblical Shema Yisrael — were once nailed for good luck and divine protection. Though the scrolls themselves vanished long ago, the diagonal stone scars remain permanently etched into the masonry. They are silent, indelible fingerprints of the families who crossed these thresholds for generations.

At the western corner of Józefa and Kupa streets stands the High Synagogue, built between 1556 and 1563. It was named High because its main prayer hall was located on the upper floor for defensive reasons, safeguarding worshippers from street riots. It is the third oldest synagogue in Krakow and the only one constructed with its primary sanctuary elevated above commercial ground-floor shops. Józefa Street holds centuries of architectural ingenuity born of the will to survive.

Continue west along Józefa Street until the narrow canyon opens into the wide cobblestone expanse of Plac Wolnica. Before you rises the Kazimierz Town Hall, the historic municipal center of the Christian burgher city.