The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall opened a new Jewish community center on Tuesday – in the heart of Poland’s historic southern city of Krakow.

The 59-year-old heir to the British thrown participated in fixing a Mezuzah to the entrance of the new center in the historic Kazimierz Jewish quarter.

The centre was built by the World Jewish Relief (WJR), a London-based charity organization which helps Jewish communities around the world.

Founded in 1933, the WJR helped 10,000 Jewish children escape from the Nazis.

The following is the press release issued yesterday by WJR: 

Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall will visit Krakow, Poland to open the new Krakow Jewish Community Centre on 29th April 2008.

The Prince of Wales has been patron of the new community centre, which has been built in the heart of Krakow by WJR.

The centre, to serve some 1,000 people, will become the hub for the whole community, including the elderly and Jewish students studying at Krakow University.

It will provide a range of services to accommodate both their current and future needs, as well as interaction between generations.

During their visit, Their Royal Highnesses will also visit the Market Square and Wawel Castle.

The Prince of Wales has visited Poland twice, during which he visited Krakow both times in 1993 and 2002. This will be The Duchess of Cornwall’s first visit to Poland.