The Great Jewish Cities of Central and Eastern Europe

The Great Jewish Cities of Central and Eastern Europe: A Travel Guide and Resource Book to Prague, Warsaw, Cracow, and Budapest is the most comprehensive guidebook covering all aspects of Jewish history and contemporary life in Prague, Warsaw, Cracow, and Budapest. This remarkable book includes detailed histories of the Jews in these cities, walking tours of Jewish districts past and present, intensive descriptions of Jewish sites, fascinating accounts of local Jewish legend and lore, and practical information for Jewish travelers to the region.

Eli Valley, the son of a New York City rabbi, moved to Prague after graduating from Cornell University in 1992. There he became the first American Jew to be fully integrated into the local Jewish community since the fall of communism. Over the course of the next five years, Eli Valley worked in sundry capacities for the Prague Jewish Community and served as the first program director of Bejt Praha, the nascent Jewish cultural and religious organization in Prague. His activities included organizing Jewish cultural events, planning religious services, lecturing on Jewish history, preparing children’s carnivals, and participating in productions of the Jewish Community Theater. Mr. Valley worked with the younger generation of Czech Jews in events ranging from Passover seders to youth seminars in eastern Slovakia. He has written extensively on these experiences and has been published in newspapers and magazines in Central Europe and the United States. Throughout his years in Prague, Mr. Valley also worked as a guide and lecturer in the former Jewish Town for thousands of visitors from Europe, North America, and Israel. It was this experience that inspired Mr. Valley to write a comprehensive visitor’s guide to the Jewish communities in the region.