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Company Story

Your Jewish Heritage Guide is not just a tour company. Above all, we are a team of people, united by the same values and principles. We are passionate about guiding and history. All of us are proud of our family roots, and love our hometowns and new anchor cities – Berlin, Krakow, Regensburg and Odessa (where some of us worked as guides for the Odessa Walks tour agency). We are excited to be part of Your Jewish Heritage Guide, to meet new people and treat them as personal friends who happen to be visiting. We share our emotions and personal stories on the tours and always hope our guests visit us more.

Hey world travelers! I am Olga and I am the founder of Your Jewish Heritage Guide. I’d like to share with you our company story.

My journey to building Your Jewish Heritage Guide

It all started in 1998 when I left my home country and went to California to attend a business school. What made me move across the ocean back then? Firstly, interest to see the world and desire to explore my career options. And while studies were certainly important, traveling was my real passion.

After obtaining an MBA degree I have worked in California, London and
 Moscow. Finally, in 2011 I made a decision to return to Odessa, my anchor 
city. Why? I wanted to build something of my own, based on what I love most:
 meeting people, this amazing city and technology. My vision was realized at 
full during the pandemic when we launched virtual Odessa tours, bringing 
together different technology platforms, the city’s rich history and authentic
 experiences of in-person tours. Since 2020, we’ve been doing not only in-
person, but also virtual tours, providing immersive and informative experience
 to people from around the world, who might not otherwise have had that
opportunity.

The war put our Odessa tours on hold, but Krakow, Berlin and Regensburg
 became the new anchor towns. We are passionate about them. We’ve learnt
 to go beyond the famous sights, connect with the locals and uncover hidden 
gems. We put faces and events to the landmarks.

On our tours we uncover cultural and historic connections between Krakow, Regensburg, Berlin and Odessa, building the bridges between these destinations. In the old days Odessa was the most cosmopolitan city in Ukraine, with extensive ties to Germany and Poland. Exploring this heritage and putting local history of Krakow, Berlin and Odessa in the global perspective provides for an immersive and exciting experience.

Our areas of expertise include cultural, historic, and Jewish heritage
tours. Our Jewish tours are full of interesting and little-known facts related to
 Berlin, Regensburg, Worms and Krakow Jewish history on one hand, and 
connections between German, Polish and Ukrainian Jewish heritage on the other. Uncovering these connections and putting local history in the global
 perspective provides for a very interesting and special tour. And for a very
 immersive experience.

We will be thrilled to share this experience with you, both in-person and virtually. Please join our in-person private general history, cultural and Jewish tours in Berlin and Krakow. Alternatively, we’ll be delighted to see you on our
 virtual live-stream tours. See you soon! Meanwhile, meet the team.

Olga Bohonovskaya

Alexandra
Born and raised in a southern town of the Odessa region, I moved to Odessa to study at the university and joined Odessa Walks in 2015. Because of the war I moved to Regensburg, Germany. When Olga decided to launch Your Jewish Heritage Guide I wholeheartedly supported her and joined the team. Why? Regensburg has become my new anchor town and I love it here. I miss guiding and meeting new people. I’m completing my training as a professional tour guide and would love sharing with you Regensburg’s rich heritage. Let’s explore this amazing town together! Aah, and I guide both in English and German.
Nastya
An Odessa local, I joined Odessa Walks in 2013 to guide Jewish heritage and general history tours. With the start of the war I moved to Poland. Why did I choose to settle there? Because of the family roots, I spent a lot of time in Poland prior to the war. I fell in love with Krakow. It reminded me of my hometown Odessa. I was completing professional training as a tour guide in Poland and thinking of how to apply my Odessa experience and knowledge of Polish and Krakow history when Olga offered me to join Your Jewish Heritage Guide. I agreed right away and am now very excited to share Krakow’s rich heritage with you. 
Olga
For quite some time now, I’ve been wearing two hats:  launching and managing the  Odessa Walks tour agency and Your Jewish Heritage Guide, as well as working as a guide. The reason I continue combining these two roles is that, on the one hand, I’ve always wanted to build a business based on my passion, and on the other hand, I genuinely love guiding. I personally conduct all virtual and live-stream tours, as well as in-person multi-destination tour programs across Poland and Germany.