Bobowa Jewish Community
The Jewish community in Bobowa , a town in southern Poland in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship , was founded in the 18th century and destroyed by the German occupiers during the Holocaust .
history
Around 1600 Bobowa was one of the 14 cities in the Krakow Voivodeship with the largest Jewish population (see shtetl ).
Jews came to Bobowa again in 1732 because they were asked by Michał Jaworski, the then city lord, who wanted to revive the city's ruined economy. In 1765 there were 44 Jewish families in Bobowa. Jewish traders received numerous privileges in the place . This caused Jews to dominate trade in the city. The Jewish traders paid the landlord high taxes for the privileges they received . The synagogue was built in 1756 and the Jewish cemetery was laid out a few years earlier.
The tolerance patent from 1785 introduced the so-called consumption tax for kosher food, high marriage fees and the so-called candle tax, a fee for the number of candles lit during the Sabbath .
In 1880, the Jewish residents made up over 40% of the total population, they owned 90% of the shops in Bobowa.
On the night of October 10th to 11th, 1889, a huge fire started in Bobowa. The Jews were accused of laying him. According to local tradition, the fire was caused by a candle that was lit during the festival of Sukkot . The fire destroyed most of the city.
Bobowa was one of the centers of Hasidism in Poland. A well-known tzaddik in the city was Chaim Halberstam (1793–1876), the founder of the Halberstam dynasty named after him .
See also
Web links
- History of the Jewish community in Bobowa at Virtual Shtetl (with many photos)