Jews – not just a synagogue

For centuries, Jews were one of the largest communities living in Poznań. Although they worked and led their everyday lives alongside townspeople, they lived in a separate district. They were ruled directly by the king, not the city authorities. They had their own school and celebrated their own holidays. Therefore, their community lived ‘with’ as well as ‘next to’ the other inhabitants of Poznań.

Today, the sign of the presence of Jews is, first and foremost, visible in the building of the old synagogue, which for years has been in need of major renovation work. However, the influence of the Jews on the heritage of Poznań was much greater, especially under the Prussian rule. It was then that Jews were given Poznań citizenship and even some power in the City Council. Many of them served the city as politicians and researchers. For example, under the rule of Richard Witting, the high mayor of Poznań who was of Jewish descent, the districts of Wilda, Łazarz, Jeżyce and Górczyn were incorporated into the city.

An example of a great contribution to Poznań’s research was made by Adolf Warschauer. This exceptionally well-educated historian came to our city from Wrocław and stayed here for thirty years. From 1882 he worked on putting Poznań archives located on Przemysł Hill in order. He devoted his life to the research on the past of the Wielkopolska Region and Poznań and published several groundbreaking papers on this subject.

The Fountain with dolphins at today’s Marcinkowskiego Avenue was founded at the beginning of the 20th century by a Jewish merchant Gustav Kronthal, from the collection of the University Library