Bialystok: Jewish Sites Tour

In the middle of the 18th century, a local Jewish commune was established in Bialystok. As the city grew, more and more Jews came here. In the mid-19th century, they comprised 70% of the entire population of the city. After German invasion in 1939, many monuments and buildings were destroyed. The famous Great Synagogue was burnt with 2000 Jews imprisoned inside. A ghetto for 50,000 people of Jewish origin was also organized here. In 1943 an uprising broke out which ended in defeat. Those Jews who survived were transported to extermination camps. Despite those tragic events, today there are still a few traces of the Jewish culture in Bialystok to discover.

We organize private Jewish Sites Tours of Bialystok on request

Tour itinerary:

1. meeting our private city guide in chosen language at your hotel at chosen time (if your hotel is located too far from the centre, we suggest a meeting point or at additional cost we can provide private transfer service)
2. 2 hours of private walking guided tour around Jewish sites in Bialystok which include:

• Jewish cemetery on Wschodnia Street – established around 1890. The last burial took place here in 1969. The cemetery area is fenced with a brick wall. It is one of the largest Jewish cemeteries in Poland with 3000 tombstones, the oldest of which dates back to 1890. In 1966 it was taken over by the State Treasury and on July 17, 1973, it was closed.
• a monument commemorating the Great Synagogue which was erected in the oldest Jewish district in Bialystok – Schulhof in 1909-1913. It deserved to be called the Great Synagogue due to its impressive size. In the interwar period, it was the largest and most beautiful synagogue in Bialystok. Its glow faded with the invasion of the German troops which set a fire. Along with the synagogue, the entire district and its inhabitants vanished. Today, in the place of the destroyed dome of the synagogue, there is a memorial plaque saying: “Our holy, magnificent tabernacle has become a prey to fire, on June 27, 1941, 2,000 Jews were burned alive by German murderers” funded in 1995 by Bialystok Jews from around the world
• the area of the former ghetto with the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes – In Bialystok ghetto, a cemetery was established, which later also served as a mass grave for the ghetto insurgents. About 3,500 Jews were buried in the cemetery. The last known burial took place in 1948. After the end of the war, a four-meter obelisk and a mausoleum dedicated to the ghetto fighters were erected in the cemetery, as well as tombstones, including in memory of Jewish scouts. In 1971, the city authorities decided to close the cemetery. At that time, the obelisk was removed, the fence was demolished, and the bodies were exhumed and placed in a mass grave on the edge of the necropolis.
• The Heroes of the Ghetto Uprising Monument – a monument commemorating the uprising in the Jewish Ghetto in Bialystok against the Nazi German occupation authorities during World War II. The uprising was launched on the night of August 16, 1943 and was the second-largest ghetto uprising organized in German-occupied Poland after the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of April–May 1943
• House of the Zamenhof Family and the Monument to Ludwik Zamenhof -Ludwik Zamenhof (born December 15, 1859 in Bialystok) was a ophthalmologist and the creator of the international language Esperanto, the most widely used constructed international auxiliary language in the world. He has been nominated eight times for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Whole tour lasts up to 2 hours

Prices:

• 450 PLN per person (1 person)
• 230 PLN per person (2 persons)
• 160 PLN per person (3 persons)
• 130 PLN per person (4 persons)
• 110 PLN per person (5 persons)
• 100 PLN per person (6 persons)
• 90 PLN per person (7 persons)
• Contact us (8 persons or more)

What is included?:

• service of our professional private city guide in chosen language for a up to 2 hours walking Jewish sites tour of Bialystok

This private tour is available in following languages:
English, German, Russian, French and Greek

*some languages may be subject to availability and prices can vary