ABSTRACT

The Krakow Jewish Festival (known by its Polish acronym, FKZ) is among the longest-running Jewish cultural festivals in the world. If one factors in the 15,000 people that cram onto Szeroka Street for the Festival’s final (and free) concert, it must qualify as one of the biggest outside the State of Israel. Regardless of how its importance may be quantified, there is little doubt it has become one of the preeminent public celebrations of Jewish culture in Europe. It has also come to occupy a prominent place in the cultural calendar of the city of Krakow. For artists, musicians, and scholars of Jewish culture, it is a coveted stage.