An audio tour of Jerusalimka was created in Vinnytsia with the support of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation

An audio tour of Vinnytsia’s historic Jerusalimka neighborhood, titled «In the Footsteps of a Hasidic Lad,» has been developed as part of a cultural heritage preservation initiative. The project was implemented by the Department of City Marketing and Tourism of Vinnytsia City Council with the support of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation. On October 16, the first demo tours were held together with a public presentation of the project’s results.

The centerpiece of the project is an audio tour, available in both Ukrainian and English, lasting about an hour. It is based on excerpts from «The Hasidic Lad» a satirical novel by Vinnytsia-born Yiddish classic Isaac Joel Linetzky, as well as contemporary musical interpretations of songs from his poetry collection «The Angry Jester». Both works had a profound influence on the development of Eastern European Jewish culture in the second half of the 19th century, yet neither has ever been translated from Yiddish or artistically reinterpreted in Ukraine. Notably, Vinnytsia’s Jerusalimka is one of the few Jewish quarters in the world that bears its own distinctive name – like Kazimierz in Kraków.

However, the audio tour itself is not satirical. Through vivid artistic imagery and rich historical context, it immerses listeners in the atmosphere of Vinnytsia’s former Jewish quarter. In this way, Jerusalimka «comes alive» – both for visitors and for the city’s residents.

What is the excursion about?

The audio tour «In the Footsteps of the Hasidic Lad» can be listened to through headphones on any device. All you need is about an hour to walk through the historic neighborhood located in the very center of Vinnytsia. Today, it is almost lost, but it still echoes in the city’s layout, in oral and written memories, and in efforts to present this heritage through various cultural activities.

The tour includes seven locations, including the former market square, the choral synagogue, and the cheder, which, unfortunately, have not survived to the present day but are mentioned in the audio guide. Historians and architects paid special attention to locating these historic buildings, and thanks to this, the route conveys the atmosphere of Jerusalimka in the second half of the 19th century more fully, bringing to life the memory of the long-standing coexistence of Ukrainian and Jewish communities in Vinnytsia.

Another important component of the project is the seven informational panels installed along the route. They contain brief information, QR codes linking to the project’s website, and – most importantly – images inspired by the engravings of the artist Vasyl Sylvestrov, who left valuable visual records of Vinnytsia’s Jerusalimka. These panels depict either the lost (or rebuilt) buildings of the neighborhood or the outlines of characters that come to life through the audio tour. This immersive walking format allows both residents and tourists not only to stroll through the cozy courtyards of the city center but also to experience the spirit of Vinnytsia’s multicultural past.

It is also important to note that this is not a traditional audio tour, but a full audio monologue performed from Linetzky’s perspective. It tells the story of the Jews of Podillya, about Yiddish and Hasidism, and, of course, about Vinnytsia’s Jerusalimka and its transformation over time. It also delves into Linetzky himself – his childhood, youth, and the phenomenon of the «Polish/Hasidic Lad».

The audio tour is voiced in Ukrainian by theater and film actor Dmytro Oliynyk, and in English by Ivan Bilash, an actor of the Ivan Franko National Academic Drama Theater. The arrangement and recording of the musical pieces that play in the background during the tour were also created specifically for this project. These are seven musical works from Linetzky’s collection, performed in the style of klezmer music by Ukrainian musicians, including the orchestra «The Vusla» and the band «Dixieland», among others.

The project also involved the public organization «Center of Jewish Culture of Vinnytsia». The Jewish music band Knafaim, which collaborates with the organization on a volunteer basis, created a song based on a poem by Linetzky specifically for this project. During the audio tour’s presentation, the organization held a musical concert, and the head of the NGO, Yuriy Huzeiev, shared a few words about the importance of preserving Jewish cultural heritage in Vinnytsia.

Thus, through literature, music, theater, and architecture, the project recreates a vision of Jewish community life in Vinnytsia over several centuries and demonstrates its significant influence on the development of the city and the region.

Website jerusalimka.vinnytsia.city

In addition to the historical and cultural research, the recording of the audio tour, and the installation of informational panels with QR codes, the project «In the Footsteps of the Hasidic Lad: an Audio Tour of Vinnytsia’s Jerusalimka» also developed a website: https://jerusalimka.vinnytsia.city. All project materials and information are freely accessible there. Visitors can listen to the audio tour and the musical compositions separately, read historical and cultural references, browse the photo gallery, and learn more about the project and the team behind it.

All information will be available in three languages (English and Hebrew, with the Ukrainian version currently accessible), featuring a universal design for visually impaired users and a separate layout optimized for mobile devices. All of this was done to make the cultural heritage of Vinnytsia’s Jerusalimka accessible, recognizable, and respected.

Overall, the initiative has become an important tool for drawing attention to Jewish historical and cultural heritage, promoting intercultural dialogue, and initiating a broader discussion on further research and preservation of this unique neighborhood. It demonstrates that safeguarding both the tangible and intangible heritage of Vinnytsia is possible through contemporary presentation methods and active community involvement.

The project «In the Footsteps of the Hasidic Lad: an Audio Tour of Vinnytsia’s Jerusalimka» has become an example of a contemporary yet deeply meaningful approach to promoting cultural heritage. The creators encourage tour guides, researchers, and all interested individuals to make use of this information, as much of it is unique and this aspect of the city’s history remains unknown to most residents.

Comments from the Creative Team

Oleksandr Vesheleni, author of the concept and the project’s visionary, Head of the Tourism Development and Digitalization Division at the State Agency for Tourism Development of Ukraine:

«The immersive audio tour format is entirely new for Vinnytsia – it is not just an audio guide, but a comprehensive multimedia product. Thanks to spatial experiences – the combination of walking in the real world while listening to a story presented in a more theatrical format, with sound effects, musical interludes, and dialogues – the recording can be listened to in full or in segments while moving along the route. So far, only a few such projects have been implemented in Ukraine. It is an interesting and contemporary blend of a tourist and artistic experience».

Svitlana Tsyhankova, Project Manager, Deputy Director of the Department of City Marketing and Tourism of Vinnytsia City Council:

«The goal of our project is to research, revive, and promote the cultural heritage associated with Vinnytsia’s historic Jewish neighborhood, Jerusalimka. For the creative team, it was important that this cultural product reflects not only the city’s historical and cultural heritage but also shows respect for the local community. We sincerely hope that both residents and visitors of Vinnytsia – and perhaps travelers from other countries – will enjoy using the audio tour. This is a contemporary interactive digital product that helps immerse users in the atmosphere of early 20th-century Vinnytsia, where nearly half of the population at the time was Jewish».

Serhiy Hirik, researcher of Judaica, PhD in History, Vice President of the Ukrainian Association of Judaica:

«This initiative allows residents and visitors of Vinnytsia (and anyone exploring the project website) to get acquainted with a space that no longer exists. Wars and urban redevelopment have transformed cities beyond recognition. A modern reader, flipping through Linetzky’s pages set in Vinnytsia, often cannot correlate the places he mentions with real locations – the city is now entirely different. Visual material from the mid-19th century is also scarce, and not all buildings and streets were documented at the time. Bringing Vinnytsia’s fragments from Linetzky’s book back from oblivion allows us to view the city and the daily life of one of its largest communities as they might have appeared a century and a half ago. Linetzky’s depiction of the life of local Hasidim is by no means photographically accurate, but his artistic expressiveness allows us to feel the atmosphere of the time and place, thereby gaining a deeper understanding of the history of the city and the region as a whole».

Oleksandr Fedoryshen, researcher of the historical, cultural, and architectural heritage of the Jerusalimka neighborhood, Director of the Vinnytsia Museum:

«From an architectural perspective, Jerusalimka has unfortunately been almost entirely lost. The most challenging task was identifying the disappeared structures – both religious and residential – and linking them to the modern terrain. Here, a large number of available maps, as well as photo and video materials of the neighborhood, proved invaluable. The collected material has already formed the basis for additional activities: at the end of August, the Vinnytsia Museum hosted an open lecture titled “Jerusalimka: On the History of the Neighborhood” at the Lvivovych estate. With the help of modern technologies and architect colleagues, we may be able to model several key Jerusalimka buildings that were lost during the 20th century».

Tamara Trunova, creative Curator of the Project, Chief Director of the Kyiv Academic Drama and Comedy Theater on the Left Bank of the Dnipro:

«This project is not about aggressive enlightenment, but about rooting and opening a dialogue on historical justice, unity, time, and community. The city has the chance to become once again a space of diversity and acceptance. The audio tour is a delicate, almost intimate way to hear what existed here before you. Its value lies not in dictating knowledge, but in fostering a sense of shared belonging. Memory is not a museum, but a living practice – and the audio tour allows a person to become a participant in this practice, where you are both the observer and the actor».

Mariya Levchenko, Scriptwriter and Creative Coordinator of the Project, Actress and Director at the Vinnytsia M. Sadovsky Academic Music and Drama Theater:

«The tour features a lot of music and many stories. It is not a traditional excursion, but rather an immersive audio monologue from Linetzky’s perspective, integrating historical facts about Vinnytsia, the arrival of Jews in the region, stories from Linetzky’s own life, and some lines or short excerpts from “The Hasidic lad”, an important foundational work for Vinnytsia’s history. The audio tour also includes seven musical pieces from Linetzky’s collection, which had become folk songs but are now almost forgotten. These recordings were rediscovered and rearranged in the style of klezmer music. Importantly, all the pieces are performed in Yiddish – the language spoken by Jews in Vinnytsia and across Ukraine up to the 20th century».