Jewish Izmir | World Jewish Travel

Izmir Project

The Route of Jewish Heritage in Izmir is a project under development, but already offers many things to explore. Its presence dating back to the Hellenistic and Roman periods, the Jewish heritage of Izmir exhibits a unique character with its dominant Sephardic traditions of religion and worship, along with the architectural styles of the synagogues that existed in medieval Spain. Out of many magnificent synagogues built in previous centuries in Izmir, only ten remain today within the Old Juderia and two in the New Juderia. Izmir is the only city to encounter the typical architectural features that survived collectively to the present day. Some preserved, some in ruins, these synagogues together with the cortejos, the cemeteries, and an elevator tower, also constitute a living testimony to community’s life in Izmir, which was one of the most spectacular of its kind and had the most spiritual and cultural influence on all Jewish diaspora communities in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Cultural Route

German Jewish Route

The area between the Harz Mountains, the Heath and the Weser belonged to the ancestral land of the Guelphs, one of the oldest European noble houses, but fell apart into many fragmented lineages and principalities. One of them had its seat in Hanover and thanks to the financial and logistical support of the Jewish court banker Leffmann Behrens, it became an electorate in 1692.

Cultural Route

Palaces, Villas and Country Houses

All over Europe, palaces, villas and country houses with Jewish stories illuminate the transformative impact of Jewish emancipation on modern European politics, society and culture. Many have extraordinary art collections and gardens. Some were stages for lavish entertaining, others provided inspiration to the European avant garde. All were beloved homes that bear witness to the triumphs – and tragedy – of the Jewish past. Explicit traces of Jewishness are rare in these grand properties, which often seem much like the manor houses of the landed aristocracy or the rural retreats of other nouveaux riches. Yet the Jewish stories these houses tell reveal a fundamentally different set of historical experiences and personal connections. Discover some of the most spectacular, intriguing and beautiful…

Cultural Route

Jewish Heritage in Romania

Our routes cover the northern regions of Romania. These areas were mostly occupied by almost 300,000 Jews from a total close to one million prior to WW II. Jews settled in Romania as early as 14 centuries mainly via the Ottoman Empire, former Galicia and Austria – Hungarian Empire. The northern Transylvanian Jews were deported during spring 1944 to Auschwitz; the Bukovina Jews were deported during fall 1941 to Transnistria (today Ukraine). Tarbut services are devoted to the descendants of Auschwitz & Transnistria survivors and for people that their families immigrated to USA between the wars or even earlier. The uniqueness of our “Family Roots Journeys” is the fact that the traveler is designing their itinerary as per Family Roots locations. There is always the synagogue, cemetery, home address, school, city hall, maybe neighbors and anything else the members family knows about their members. Tarbut provides genealogical services, while meeting local artists and enjoying the traditional food and drinks.

Cultural Route

Routes of Jewish Heritage in France

France has the largest Jewish community in Europe. This presence began at the time of the Romans, 2000 years ago. A very rich Jewish life developed throughout the Middle Ages (5th to 14th century) and the intellectual influence of this medieval community went beyond the Jewish world alone. But the successive expulsions by the kings of France (final expulsion in 1394) gradually rejected the Jews beyond the borders of the kingdom. Then territorial conquests and peace treaties brought these communities back into today’s France. The French Revolution of 1789 granted Jews citizenship and equal rights, a long-envied example in Europe. In the 19th and 20th centuries, Human Rights France attracted a considerable number of Jews from endangered communities in Europe, North Africa (former French colonies) and the Middle East. The Routes of Jewish Heritage in France illustrate both the diversity of the different components of the French Jewish community and the history of its integration in the French nation.

Cultural Route

Jewish Belarus

A Jewish heritage route through Belarus is a much-needed initiative in its early development stages. It is a community capacity building initiative of The Together Plan to support revival of Jewish community life, wider civil society and attract interest from outside of Belarus.

Cultural Route

Jewish Azerbaijan

Jewish heritage in Azerbaijan is represented by several monuments in Baku, Quba, Oghuz, Ismayilli, and other parts of Azerbaijan. Many ruins of ancient synagogues have been found in different parts of the country. Jews have lived in Azerbaijan for centuries, but their arrival in Baku dates to the 1830s. Later, the community grew rapidly during the Oil Boom, which enticed diverse people to the city in search of work and wealth. Currently, there are six synagogues in Azerbaijan: two in Baku, two in Quba, and two in Oghuz. A new Jewish synagogue, which became one of the biggest synagogues in Europe opened in Baku on March 9, 2003. The main Jewish heritage sites that operate to date in Azerbaijan are the following: Synagogue of Ashkenazi Jews, Synagogue of Mountain Jews, “Alti Gumbaz” Synagogue Gilaki Synagogue, “Ashagi Mahalla” Synagogue, “Yukhari Mahalla” Synagogue, The Museum of Mountain Jews.

Cultural Route

Jewish Burgenland

A driving force in the cultural and intellectual life of Europe, a place of intellectual growth for Talmud students from all over Europe, a centre of activity for rabbis of supraregional reputation, the donor of the name for a Haredi neighborhood in the north of Jerusalem, and flourishing Jewish Communities, which were able to flourish over a period of about 250 years, free from expulsion and persecution and enjoying comparatively extensive freedoms, until the National Socialists came to power in Austria. All this can be linked to the former Jewish Communities of Burgenland. Until 1938, a rich diversity of Jewish life existed in Burgenland. This can also be seen in the wide range of religious life: there were both, strictly Orthodox Communities as well as liberal Neological communal life. The most famous are the Siebengemeinden/Sheva Kehillot, which had been established under the protection of the Esterhàzy family since the 17th century. Even today, the grave of Rabbi Meir Eisenstadt at the older Jewish cemetery in Eisenstadt is considered a place of pilgrimage for Orthodox Jews from all over the world. Today there is not a single Jewish Community left in Burgenland. When the National Socialists came to power in 1938, the communities were shattered, their inhabitants were plundered, expelled and murdered. Those who managed to escape abroad have exported the memory of these once significant Communities from Burgenland throughout the world. The route through the Jewish heritage of Burgenland is therefore both: a reminder of former spiritual magnificence and cultural wealth and a silent witness to the expulsion and robbery of the same

Cultural Route

Jewish Czech Republic

The Jews arrived in the Czech Lands as early as during the time of the Great Moravian Empire in the 9th century. They first passed through as merchants and later started settling down permanently here. A report by an Arab-Jewish merchant, Ibrahim Ibn Yaqoub, written in 965, refers to the presence of Jewish merchants in Prague marketplaces. At first, Jews lived either in separate enclosed courts or, for safety and religious reasons, in small settlements. At the time, they founded these freely, with the permission of the ruler, in places which they found suitable, probably close to international or local markets. Their situation was affected, however, by the Crusades and restrictions which pushed them to the margins of society. They were the direct subjects of the king, who provided protection to them for which, however, they had to pay. From the end of the 13th to the end of the 18th century the Jews were mostly forced to live in ethnically enclosed settlements. Different kinds of settlements emerged; in some places, mainly in the country, they were just a cluster of cottages, in other places rows of houses along one or both sides of a “Jewish“ street, and in places where a larger number of Jewish families lived Jewish quarters were founded. Jewish streets and quarters were most often referred to as V židech [At the Jews], which corresponded to the Spanish Judería , German Judengasse or Judestadt and the French Juiverie. The now common term ghetto started taking root from the 16th century. The largest ghetto in the Czech Lands was the Jewish Town of Prague; other large ghettoes included, for example, Mikulov and Boskovice in Moravia.

Cultural Route

Jewish Italy

Travellers who cross the Alps to enter Il Bel Paese (The Beautiful Country) will follow footsteps steeped in history and encounter landscapes rich in natural differences and dotted with extraordinary works of art, many of which speak to the Jewish presence throughout the peninsula. In Venice, visitors will come across the first ghetto in history; in Turin, they can lift their eyes to the monumental spire of the Mole, originally designed as a synagogue; in Florence, they can walk into the great synagogue of the Emancipation. As they head south to Rome, travellers will find the oldest community of the Diaspora; in Naples, the latest community to be reborn in Italy since the expulsion of 1492. Throughout the country’s southern tip and in unique corners like the Sicilian town of Agira, visitors will find ancient remains imbued with millennias’ worth of history and legend. As they wander among these traces of history, tasting local flavors, they’ll build a connection to the land that will last a lifetime. Thanks to the collaboration of Visit Jewish Italy and I Tal Ya – L’Italia Ebraica – Cultura Gusto E Tradizioni, our route is an organized showcase that will guide you in arranging visits, planning itineraries, and accessing relevant services so that you can discover Jewish Italy’s remarkable heritage.'

Cultural Route

Jewish Lithuania

Jewish heritage in Lithuania is a complex experience, which involves sites related to traditional Judaism, modern secular Jewish thought and shtetl culture specific to this region. Lithuanian Jewish heritage is part of a wider phenomenon known as Litvak culture, and the history of this phenomenon can be discovered through Litvak cuisine, Litvak relations with other ethnic groups in the region, and Litvak self-reflection. Another significant part of the Route is presenting stories of famous Litvaks from all around Lithuania, whose ideas, art, inventions and so on make the image of Litvak culture prominent among other Jewish diaspora communities. JHL focuses on presenting authentic historical narratives about Jewish cultural heritage sites, bringing to light the involvement of the Jewish diaspora in the cultural and economical development of the region. The Jewish Heritage Route in Lithuania can lead to different directions based on the preferences of the visitor, whether it be learning about Vilnius as the Jerusalem of the North, rediscovering forgotten wooden synagogues in the old shtetls, or encountering industrial Jewish heritage in the biggest Lithuanian cities.

Cultural Route

Poland's Chassidic Route

The Route of Jewish heritage in Poland makes the first attempt at a comprehensive approach towards the very complex issues of Jewish heritage in Poland. This viewpoint comes in a cross-section form reflecting on all of the most important phenomena related to what is broadly understood as Jewish Poland and its millennium long history dating back to High Middle Ages. The Route combines hub cities, perceived as optimal connectors for telling the story of Polish Jewry with its all extraordinary nuances, located in several Polish regions across the country. Linking those 5 hub cities creates a closed trail in a form of a circle. At the same time, these are the largest Polish metropolitan centers, and allow for a number of sub-routes of regional character to be established in each of the 5 sections.

My Other Listings

Izmir Project

German Jewish Route

Palaces, Villas and Country Houses

Jewish Heritage in Romania

Routes of Jewish Heritage in France

Jewish Belarus

Jewish Azerbaijan

Jewish Burgenland

Jewish Czech Republic

Jewish Italy

Jewish Lithuania

Poland's Chassidic Route

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