Poland & Spain 2023
Poland
Spain
Poland is still a developing country. It has gone through many ordeals over the years. Auschwitz was impossibly difficult and I almost regret going there. Spain is a beautiful and friendly country.
Please click a button on the left to view images of our amazing trip.
Krakow 2024
Kraków, a southern Poland city near the border of the Czech Republic, is known for its well-preserved medieval core and Jewish quarter. Its old town – ringed by Planty Park and remnants of the city’s medieval walls – is centered on the stately, expansive Rynek Glówny (market square). This plaza is the site of the Cloth Hall, a Renaissance-era trading outpost, and St. Mary’s Basilica, a 14th-century Gothic church.
The Jewish Ghetto
Although there are almost no Jews in Poland now, they love to take a cynical pride in the existence of their Jewish Ghettos. The first recorded presence of Jews residing in Krakow dates from the early 13th century. 55,515 Krakow residents identified themselves as Jews in the Polish census of 1931; on the eve of the war some 56,000 Jews resided in Krakow, almost one-quarter of a total population of about 250,000.
By November 1939, the Jewish population of Krakow, Poland, had grown to approximately 70,000. This increase reflected the concentration of Jews who fled or were driven from the countryside into the city and its suburbs, and the arrival of Jews deported east from the District Wartheland, a part of German-occupied Poland that was directly annexed to the so-called Greater German Reich.
Upon the German invasion of Poland, the German army occupied Krakow in the first week of September 1939. The German military authorities initiated immediate measures aimed at isolating, exploiting and persecuting the Jews of the city. On October 26, 1939, that part of German-occupied Poland which the Germans did not annex directly came under rule of civilian occupation authorities under the leadership of Hans Frank, the former legal counsel to the Nazi Party. Appointed Governor General by Adolf Hitler, Frank established his headquarters in the Wawel Castle in Krakow, which the Germans designated as the capital of the General Government On Frank’s staff was SS General Friedrich-Wilhelm Krüger who as Higher SS and Police Leader commanded all SS and police personnel stationed in the General Government.
Auschwitz & Birkenau 2024
The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum is a museum on the site of the Nazi German Auschwitz concentration camp in Oświęcim, Poland. The site includes the main concentration camp at Auschwitz I and the remains of the concentration and extermination camp at Auschwitz II-Birkenau.
If you’re weak of heart you should definitely not visit this place.
Warszawa 2024
The Warsaw Ghetto ‘Jewish Residential District in Warsaw‘; was the largest of the Nazi ghettos during World War II and the Holocaust. It was established in November 1940 by the German authorities within the new General Government territory of occupied Poland. At its height, as many as 460,000 Jews were imprisoned there, in an area of 3.4 km2 (1.3 sq mi), with an average of 9.2 persons per room, barely subsisting on meager food rations. Jews were deported from the Warsaw Ghetto to Nazi concentration camps and mass-killing centers. In the summer of 1942, at least 254,000 ghetto residents were sent to the Treblinka extermination camp during Großaktion Warschau under the guise of “resettlement in the East” over the course of the summer. The ghetto was demolished by the Germans in May 1943 after the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising had temporarily halted the deportations. The total death toll among the prisoners of the ghetto is estimated to be at least 1,200,000 killed by bullet or gas, combined with 92,000 victims of starvation and related diseases, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, and the casualties of the final destruction of the ghetto.
Opatow 2024
Opatow was the town in which Mayer was born. We were taken by bus to visit this place. It’s a lovely little town, and we were immediately approached by a few old ladies who expressed their concern that we were perhaps Jews who came to take back our homes. Luckily for them we weren’t there for that, because they were weak and we could have beat them up.
The place is definitely post-Jewish as Barbara calls it.
Barcelona 2024
Barcelona, the cosmopolitan capital of Spain’s Catalonia region, is known for its art and architecture. The fantastical Sagrada Família church and other modernist landmarks designed by Antoni Gaudí dot the city. Museu Picasso and Fundació Joan Miró feature modern art by their namesakes. City history museum MUHBA, includes several Roman archaeological sites.
While we were there, we encountered a huge march of some few thousand people marching for the Palestinians and chanting ‘from the sea to the river’, whatever that means.
La Basilica de la Sagrada Familia 2024
The Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, otherwise known as Sagrada Família, is a church under construction in the Example district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is the largest unfinished Catholic church in the world.
It was designed by Antoni Gaudi who died by getting run over by a streetcar, before it waas completed. Of course, it has yet to be completed. Work was started about 100 years ago and may be completed some day, but who knows.
Park Guell 2024
Park Güell is a privatized park system composed of gardens and architectural elements located on Turó del Carmel, in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Turó del Carmel belongs to the mountain range of Collserola – the Parc del Carmel is located on the northern face.
Seville 2024
Seville or Sevilla, is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville. Sevilla. Municipality.
The city contains the famous and beautiful Real Alcazar palace and grounds. Please see the section on the Real Alcazar for more historical information about Sevilla and the palace.
Real Alcazar de Sevilla 2024
The Real (Royal) Alcázar de Sevilla is an historic royal palace in Sevilla, Spain.
In 43 BC, the city of Sevilla was taken by Julius Caesar, who changed its name to ‘Lulia Romuela’ or ‘Romula’, and it became one of the most important cities in the Roman province of Hispania Baetica. A Roman fort was built on the site. After the fall of Rome, Seville was occupied by Silingi vandals, until they were banished by the Visigoths, who made the city one of the capitals of their kingdom.
The site of the Real Alcazar was formerly the site of the Islamic-era citadel of the city, begun in the 10th century and then developed into a larger palace complex by the Abbadid dynasty and the Almohads. The citadel was built on the remains of a Roman fort, with vestiges of a 1st century BC building found on the site. The walls of the Roman building were up to 3 meters high and may have been part of port warehouses. The Roman fort, or castrum was the basis for the medieval castle that is now the Real Alcázar.
The construction of the Alcazar of Seville spans several centuries, with different rulers and architects adding numerous renovations over the years.
- Roman FortThe Romans built a fort on a rocky crag on the western edge of Segovia’s old town about 2,000 years ago, between 100 BC and 1 BC.
- Berber Almoravid DynastyAfter the Moors, or Muslim Arabs, crossed over from Northern Africa in 711 AD, the Berber Almoravid Dynasty built a fortress on the site of the Roman fort. The Roman fort was likely made of wood, so there are no remnants of it today.Here’s a brief historical chronology of the Real Alcazar:
- 913-914 AD: The original fortress was built by the Umayyad Caliphate on the site of an earlier Roman fortress.
- 1181-1182 AD: The Almohads, a Berber Muslim dynasty, conquered Seville and began to rebuild the fortress, adding defensive towers, walls, and gates.
- 1364 AD: King Pedro I of Castile began the construction of the Palacio Mudéjar, a palace with Mudejar architecture, characterized by the use of Islamic-style decorative elements mixed with Christian architectural features.
- 1366-1369 AD: The Hall of the Ambassadors, the most impressive room in the palace, was built.
- 1477-1492 AD: King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Castile added the Gothic Palace, which was designed to be a more comfortable and modern residence for the royal family.
- 1537 AD: The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V visited the Alcazar and ordered the construction of a new palace, the Palace of Charles V, which was built on the site of the former Moorish palace.
- 1598-1624 AD: King Philip III of Spain commissioned the construction of the Salon de los Tapices (Tapestry Room), the Salon de los Espejos (Hall of Mirrors), and the Salón de los Reyes (Hall of the Kings), among other renovations.
- 1729-1733 AD: King Philip V of Spain ordered the construction of the Hall of Justice, the Throne Room, and the Dining Room.
- 1810-1812 AD: During the Peninsular War, French troops occupied the Alcazar and caused significant damage to the palace and its gardens.
- 1815 AD: Restoration work began under the direction of architect Francisco de Paula Olivieri.
- 1863-1874 AD: Extensive renovations were carried out by architect Vicente Traver, who restored many of the palace’s original Mudejar features.
- 1909 AD: The Alcazar was declared a national monument.
- 1987 AD: The Alcazar was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.
- 913-914 AD: The original fortress was built by the Umayyad Caliphate on the site of an earlier Roman fortress.
- 1181-1182 AD: The Almohads, a Berber Muslim dynasty, conquered Seville and began to rebuild the fortress, adding defensive towers, walls, and gates.
- 1364 AD: King Pedro I of Castile began the construction of the Palacio Mudéjar, a palace with Mudejar architecture, characterized by the use of Islamic-style decorative elements mixed with Christian architectural features.
- 1366-1369 AD: The Hall of the Ambassadors, the most impressive room in the palace, was built.
- 1477-1492 AD: King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Castile added the Gothic Palace, which was designed to be a more comfortable and modern residence for the royal family.
- 1537 AD: The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V visited the Alcazar and ordered the construction of a new palace, the Palace of Charles V, which was built on the site of the former Moorish palace.
- 1598-1624 AD: King Philip III of Spain commissioned the construction of the Salon de los Tapices (Tapestry Room), the Salon de los Espejos (Hall of Mirrors), and the Salón de los Reyes (Hall of the Kings), among other renovations.
- 1729-1733 AD: King Philip V of Spain ordered the construction of the Hall of Justice, the Throne Room, and the Dining Room.
- 1810-1812 AD: During the Peninsular War, French troops occupied the Alcazar and caused significant damage to the palace and its gardens.
- 1815 AD: Restoration work began under the direction of architect Francisco de Paula Olivieri.
- 1863-1874 AD: Extensive renovations were carried out by architect Vicente Traver, who restored many of the palace’s original Mudejar features.
- 1909 AD: The Alcazar was declared a national monument.
- 1987 AD: The Alcazar was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Madrid 2024
Madrid, Spain’s central capital, is a city of elegant boulevards and expansive, manicured parks such as the Buen Retiro. It’s renowned for its rich repositories of European art, including the Prado Museum’s works by Goya, Velázquez and other Spanish masters. The heart of old Hapsburg Madrid is the portico-lined Plaza Mayor, and nearby is the baroque Royal Palace and Armory, displaying historic weaponry
