“It was Białystok, my birthplace and the city of my childhood, that oriented all my efforts”– wrote Dr. Ludovic Zamenhof, the creator of the international Esperanto language, about his home town.

To trace his steps in Białystok, we begin at the Ludovic Zamenhof Centre on Warszawska Str. 19. A modern multimedia exhibition leads us into the atmosphere of Białystok of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, when the town was inhabited by Poles, Germans, Jews, Russians, Belarussians, Lithuanians, Ukrainians and Tatars. Archival photographs, documents, city maps, and interesting artifacts (old chests, suitcases and shutters) give the exhibition an interesting Białystok backdrop. The voice of a narrator leads us through the streets young Zamenhof walked along and through subsequent stages of his life, while we hear the sound of stallholders calling, bells ringing, a baby crying, and a dog barking transmitted via speakers. Display-boards are presented both in English and in Esperanto. In the Centre workshops are held promoting the idea of dialogue between cultures and providing biographical information about Zamenhof himself. A public library with collections in Esperanto is also in operation. On the other side of the street, at Warszawska 8, is the former Realne junior high-school (now called the the 6th High School of General Education), in which Zamenhof attended between 1869 and 1873.

The present Kościuszki Town Square (Rynek Kościuszki) at the heart of the town is the former Bazarny Market Square (Rynek Bazarny) resounding with multilingual hubbub, which Zamenhof compared to the biblical tower of Babel. The Esperanto Café situated in the town hall building (Rynek Kościuszki Str. 10) is definitely worth visiting for a glass of buza – a white sparkling drink made of millet and raisins, highly popular in prewar Białystok. The buza is served, according to tradition, with halva or another prewar delicacy: bialys, i.e., a yeasty roll with poppy and onion.