The Jews in Lublin - Biblioteka Multimedialna Teatrnn.pl - Brama ...

Once, there was a Jewish cemetery on the area of the Krakivskiy market. It was
partly destroyed by the Nazis during the Second World War. The oldest tomb, according
to Majer Balaban, dated back to 1348.
The cemetery is considered to have been in common use for Jews from the suburb
district and from the city district because no documents denying this have ever been
found 4 .
Zhydivska (Jewish) street included the south-eastern part of the suburb district
making a closed territory - a ghetto with its own gate from the side of Ruska street,
which was always closed at night to avoid massacre. The "Zhydivska brama" (Porta
Judaeorum) was usually called "Bramka"(meaning small gate). The diminutive name
was used to differentiate it from other large city gates (Krakivska and Halytska). But
nevertheless it was bigger than other gates leading to the city, such as Bosyatska and
Jesuitska 5 . Because of frequent attacks Bramka had to be closed during the day as a way
to protect against local drunks and especially the students of Cathedral school and the
Jesuit collegium. The students and the school poor were constant enemies of the Jews,
and despite constant apologies by the Rector, never let them alone.
Zhydivska street in the north direction leads to the Dominican Cathedral and
Armenian quarter and in the South direction to the Bernardin monastery. Its southern
part is the ancient Zhydivska street. This was its name during the Austrian-Hungarian
period (Judengasse) but in 1871 the name was changed to the historically mistaken and
inexpressive Blyakharska because of the strange and odd sensitiveness of the lodgers 6 .
In the 1580s a new synagogue appeared in the centre and it was later called the
"Golden Rose" 7 . Near it there were different premises such as a hospital, bath-house,
shops, a Rabbi's house, a place for trials and kahal meetings.
Jews had prayed in the "Golden Rose" for more than 350 years when in 1942 it was
destroyed by the Fascists. Today the remnants may be seen in Ivan Fedorov street 27 8 .
The Jewish communities of the city and the suburb districts differed locally and
administratively. They had their own schools, trials, shops, bath-houses, kahals; they
treated each other with arrogance and disdain. At that time no Orthodox Jew would
move from the suburb to the city district and vice versa 9 .
The situation changed greatly after the 6th October 1648 when the troops of Bohdan
Khmelnytskyy attacked Lviv. In order not to let the Hetman's troops enter the city
centre the Lviv forces decided to shift the main blow to the suburb district with the
4
Cf. ibidem, p. 185.
5
Cf. ibidem, p. 129.
6
Cf. PRYSJAZNYJ K.: Szczo dijaloś na żydiwśkij wulyci? Nezależnyj kulturotohicznyj czasopys „Ji"
Hałyczyna-krajina ljudej 2004, N° 36, p. 129.
7
Cf. KAPRAL M.: Nacionalnigromady Lwowa XVI-XVIIIst. (socjalno-prawowi wzajemyny). P. 306.
8
Cf. Jewrei w Ukrainie. Ucziebno-metodiczieskije materiały.. Kabanchik I. B. (ed.), p. 25.
9 Cf. BALABAN M„ op. cit., p. 16.
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