Attraction

Jewish Community Centre (JCC) in Krakow: visits and history

JCC Krakow is the community centre in Kazimierz that Charles, then Prince of Wales, opened in 2008. Its programmes range from a preschool for children aged one to six to a Senior Club whose members include Holocaust survivors.

The Jewish Community Centre in Krakow, known as JCC Krakow, stands on Miodowa Street in the Jewish district of Kazimierz, and guests arrange visits with the centre by email. Its Polish name is Centrum Społeczności Żydowskiej w Krakowie. The centre describes itself as a home for every Jew in Krakow and the wider community, whether Orthodox, progressive, secular or simply Jewish.

According to JCC, in 2025 the community had more than 1,200 members from 24 countries. They ranged from small children at the Frajda preschool to Holocaust survivors in the Senior Club.

Visiting the Jewish Community Centre (JCC)

The address that JCC Krakow gives for visitors is Miodowa 24, 31-055 Krakow. Visits, programmes arranged on request and kosher catering are agreed by email at visitors@jcckrakow.org. The programmes for guests are organised by JCC, not by YourKrakow. JCC says that it welcomes thousands of guests every month.

For guests who want to learn about Jewish life today, the centre offers meetings, events and activities with community members, staff and volunteers. Friends of JCC Krakow, an American organisation that supports the centre, also lists a meeting with a Holocaust survivor, a Shabbat dinner with the community and genealogy consultations on family history.

In 2025 JCC held 145 events open to the wider community, and more than 3,600 people attended them. The centre's programmes are described on the JCC Krakow website.

In May 2024 JCC and Cafe Central, a Warsaw coffee roastery owned by Israelis, opened Cafe Hafuch, a kosher café in Kazimierz. The café is open daily except on Shabbat, 9:30-18:00, as listed in October 2026. These are the hours of the café, not of the centre.

Frajda, the Senior Club and Shabbat dinners

Frajda, the preschool and nursery of JCC, takes Jewish children aged one to six. Frajda is a programme for members, not for tourists.

The JCC Senior Club brings together more than 150 seniors, and more than 50 of them are Holocaust survivors. For members of the club, JCC covers medical costs and provides transport. It also gives financial help with utility bills and with buying food.

Together with Hillel Poland, JCC runs Hillel Krakow, a club for young adults aged 18-30. In 2025 the centre held more than 100 Shabbat and holiday dinners. More than 6,500 people took part in these dinners in total. In the same year JCC held more than 800 programmes and events.

Holocaust Survivor Day, held every year on 4 June, is a JCC project. According to JCC, the day has since become a global movement.

Help for refugees from Ukraine and the Free Shop

Russian forces launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. On the next day, JCC Krakow began to work as a humanitarian aid point for refugees from Ukraine. The centre gives basic goods to refugees mainly through the Free Shop in the main JCC building. In 2025 the Free Shop had 33,361 visits in total.

History of the Jewish Community Centre (JCC)

The idea dates from 2002, when Charles, then Prince of Wales, came to Krakow and toured the Jewish district of Kazimierz. During this visit he saw the need for a Jewish centre that would support an ageing community.

In 2018 Tadeusz Jakubowicz, chairman of the Jewish Religious Community in Krakow, described the end of the visit. Charles asked how he could help, and Jakubowicz answered that a building to house all of Krakow's Jewish organisations would be useful. He also proposed a plot that belonged to the community, where a ruined single-storey caretaker's house stood.

The centre was built with support from World Jewish Relief. Charles and his wife opened it on 29 April 2008.

In 2025, on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, King Charles III visited JCC Krakow. He met refugees from Ukraine and Holocaust survivors whom the centre supports. In his speech he recalled that about seventeen years earlier he had stood on the steps of the centre. He said that he had encouraged its construction and had opened it with pride.

Near JCC Krakow: Tempel Synagogue and Plac Nowy

The Tempel Synagogue is about 50 m away in a straight line, and the Kupa Synagogue is about 100 m away. Plac Nowy is about 150 m away, and the Remuh Synagogue and its cemetery are about 200 m away. Our electric cart tour of Kazimierz covers the district where the centre stands.

Jewish Community Centre (JCC): questions visitors ask

Where is the Jewish Community Centre in Krakow?

At Miodowa 24, 31-055 Krakow, the contact address that the centre gives for visitors. The building is in Kazimierz, about 50 m in a straight line from the Tempel Synagogue.

Can tourists visit JCC Krakow?

Yes, by arrangement with the centre. Visits and programmes for guests are agreed by email through visitors@jcckrakow.org.

Who opened the Jewish Community Centre?

Charles, then Prince of Wales and now King Charles III. He opened the centre with his wife in 2008.

What is the Ride For The Living?

It is a bike ride of 60 miles (97 km) from Auschwitz-Birkenau to JCC Krakow, first held in 2014. The ride held its 10th edition in 2025. Among the 200 riders was Bernard Offen, a Holocaust survivor aged 96.