Tarnów

Karolina Dąbrowska

TARNÓW

Tarnów

The aim of my presentation is to provide an outline of the history of Tarnów and

essential facts one should be familiar with while visiting the city. I attempted

to present Tarnów as a place with charming Galician atmosphere that attracts

tourists from all over the world. The following presentation also lists some of the

best known figures of Tarnów who contributed greatly to the development

of the city.

I hope that my presentation enables you to discover Tarnów for yourselves.

Tour of Tarnów

Trail of Tarnów Renaissance

Trail of General Bem – The Hero of Two Nations

Trail of the Jews of Tarnów

Trail of Jan Szczepanik – Polish Edison

Ethnography and folk

Sacral tourism

Family tour

Do you know, that ...

Trail of Tarnów RenaissanceTrail of Tarnów Renaissance Trail of General Bem – The Hero of Two Nations Trail of the Jews of Tarnów Trail of Jan Szczepanik – Polish Edison

‘Pearl of the Renaissance’ that is how Tarnów’s Old

Town is spoken about by art connoisseurs. In the epoch

of Renaissance Tarnów was one of the most beautiful

towns in Poland. Its extraordinary beauty and

atmosphere were created by structures such as:

majestic parish church, magnificent Town Hall and the

townsmen houses with polychrome finished front

walls.

Today, while walking the streets of Tarnów one can

admire the beauty of the Renaissance houses within

the Old Town, unique tombstones inside the Cathedral

and remains of the once magnificent castle on

St. Martin’s Hill.

Trail of Tarnów Renaissance Trail of General Bem – The Hero of Two Nations Trail of the Jews of Tarnów Trail of Jan Szczepanik – Polish Edison

We start our tour at the Town Square which is one of the smallest yet one of the most beautiful in Poland. It is surrounded by the Renaissance arcaded buildings. In the middle of the Square two storey Town Hall topped with an attic with fourteen masks is located. The oldest sections of the structure are Gothic. It was rebuilt in Renaissance by Giovanni Maria Padovano. Turret clock set in the Town Hall’s tower (30 meters high) is the oldest in Poland. Right by the Town Hall, on its south-eastern side stands pranger – a column the condemned was tied to for public humiliation.

Trail of General Józef Bem


• he was born in Tarnów on March 14 1794

• record of his birth and Christening survived in birth

registry of the Cathedral parish in Tarnów

•house no. 8 at General Józef Bem’s Square

is considered his birthplace

• Town Hall collects pieces documenting Bem’s life and

army activities in Poland during the November

Uprising; his emigration to France, life in Hungary

during the ‘Springtime of Nations’ in 1848, where he

commanded the Transylvanian Army and his

emigration to Turkey, where Bem died on December

10, 1848.


• the ashes of General Józef Bem were brought back to

Poland, to his hometown Tarnów in 1929 and rested in an

imposing mausoleum located in Strzelecki Park

• worth seeing is also the monument of General Bem on

Wałowa Street

Jewish HeritageTrail of Tarnów Renaissance Trail of General Bem – The Hero of Two Nations Trail of the Jews of Tarnów Trail of Jan Szczepanik – Polish Edison

• Żydowska and Wekslarska streets outline the originally Jewish

quarter of the city. The 17th and 18th centuries buildings

preserved there represent the most common type of dense

architecture with narrow passages between the houses and tiny

backyards.

• Through the gate of Żydowska Street one can enter

the square, where up until the WWII stood the 17th century

Synagogue, the oldest of city’s prayer houses.

It was burnt down by the Nazis. Only the Bimah (elevated area

from which the Torah is read) survived.


• Roman Brandstaetter was an award-winning Polish-Jewish writer, poet, playwright, journalist and translator. He was born in Tarnów in 1906. One can see his statue on the corner of Wałowa Street.

• Dr Eliasz Goldhammer’s (vice-mayor) contribution to the development of Tarnów was awarded by giving his name to one of the most important Jewish streets in the city. Both sides of the street outline houses of the elite of Tarnów Jews. On the facade of the house no. 6 one can see the menus of the restaurant once operating there. The menus are in Yiddish and Polish.


• Jewish cemetery, founded in 1581, is one of the oldest and most interesting cemeteries in southern

Poland. Over four thousand graves can be found there. It was devastated by the Nazis during WWII, and

turned into the place of mass slaughter of Jews from Tarnów’s Ghetto committed between June 1942

and September 1943.

• Jewish ritual bathhouse – Mikvah was erected in 1904 in the Moorish style. It became infamous for

being the place of gathering of the first prisoners of Auschwitz Concentration Camp.

Jan SzczepanikTrail of Tarnów Renaissance Trail of General Bem – The Hero of Two Nations Trail of the Jews of Tarnów Trail of Jan Szczepanik – Polish Edison

• the pioneer of color photography, television broadcasting, color films, precursor of modern textile

industry and inventor of bulletproof jacket

• born in 1872 near Przemyśl but spent most of his adult life in Tarnów

• Jan Szczepanik was a friend to Mark Twain who wrote two tales dedicated to him

• the great inventor died in 1926 and was buried in Tarnów

• his only monument stands at Szczepanika Square next to the school named after the great inventor

Tarnów Ethnographic MuseumEthnography and folkSacral tourismFamily tourDo you know, that ...

• The Tarnów Ethnographic Museum, located in a former suburban inn, which is now the very center of the city,

displays the only permanent exhibition of Gypsy history and culture in Europe.

• A collection of original Gypsy caravans is located in a backyard of the museum. Enthusiasts can make an

appointment for a camp-fire and Gypsy dances.

• Each year in July ‘Caravan of remembrance’ takes place. It starts at the gates of the museum. Several days long

journey attracts spectators from all over the world. Everyone is welcome to take part in this event.

Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary

Ethnography and folkSacral tourismFamily tourDo you know, that ...

Cathedral is the most representative historical monument in Tarnów. It was built in the 14th century in the Gothic style. Today’s neoGothic outline is a remnant of a renovation and partial reconstruction in the years 1889-1900. Of note is the 16th century portal, the impressive several-metre-long monuments to the Tarnowski and Ostrogski families, a number of extraordinary paintings and the impressive, 72 metre tower, a handy point of reference when getting lost in one of Tarnów’s many rambling back streets. Some nice recent additions are also evident, including the fabulously ornate sculpted metal doors on the southern side of the building.

John Paul IIEthnography and folkSacral tourismFamily tourDo you know, that ...

The statue of John Paul II was unveiled on June 29th, 1981 in

a ceremony that gathered over 10,000 observers to

Pl. Katedralny. The work of popular sculptor Bronisław

Chromy, the 3.5m high sculpture was supposedly completed

at the same time as an assassination attempt on the pontiff

in Rome.

The metal entrance doors on the southern side of the Cathedral.

Sacral wooden architectureEthnography and folkSacral tourismFamily tourDo you know, that ...

• In Tarnów, there are two churches which are made entirely

of wood from the 15th and 16th centuries. Beautifully

decorated interiors contain original furnishings. Blessed

Virgin Mary church is home to a painting of the Blessed

Virgin with the Child, known for many miracles.

• In Zawada, a village situated 3km from Tarnów, one can

see the church of St. Martin. It was built in the 15th century

and then reconstructed a few times during the late Gothic

period, which is evident in the structure’s design.

An extraordinary panorama of the whole Tarnów and part of the Carpathian Foothills awards struggle of climbing on St. Martin’s Hill – the northernmost hill of the Carpathian Mountains with preserved remnants of a once magnificent castle of the Tarnowski family.

St. Martin’s HillEthnography and folkSacral tourismFamily tourDo you know, that ...

Parents with their young children shall enjoy wanders around Tarnów. They will definitely like the monument of an elephant that was painted by kids or the unique water fountain modeled on the Solar System.

Ethnography and folkSacral tourismFamily tourDo you know, that ...

Do you know, that … Ethnography and folkSacral tourismFamily tourDo you know, that ...

• Tarnów is known as a ‘Polish Hot – Spot’?The long-term mean annual temperature equals 8,8 °C and is the highest in Poland. Growing season lasts from 210 up to 230 days. The warmest place in Tarnów is the south part of the Sanguszków Park in Gumniska district.

• Tarnów is Polish Capital of Comedy?For over ten years the Solski Theatre in Tarnów has launched the TALIA Comedy Festival. Every October best Polish theatre troupes compete for top honors and the statue of Talia.

• Tarnów is second, after Cracow, largest complex of ancient monuments in Southern Poland?There are dozens of historical structures spread around the city. The oldest were erected in the Gothic and Renaissance period. The urban layout of the Old Town remained unchanged since 1330.

Do you know, that … Ethnography and folkSacral tourismFamily tourDo you know, that ...

• Tarnów seems to be strongly influenced by numbers?Especially number 72. It refers to some of the most symbolic city structures, such as: the total area of Town Square is 72 ares; total area of the city of Tarnów equals 72 km2; and the Cathedral’s tower is 72 meters high.

• Tarnów was the first liberated city in Poland?After 123 years of geopolitical non-existence Poland regained its independence in 1918, and Tarnów was the first free city, liberated at 7.30 a.m. on October 31st.

• the Carpathian Mountains start right by the Tarnów borders?The northernmost hill of the Carpathian Mountains is St. Martin’s Hill, located within city’s borders.

• Tarnów was the home for people of varying ethnicities?In the past people of varying ethnicities like Jews, Germans, Ukrainians, Scots, Gypsies and Austrians have lived here for centuries. Each nationality has left an enduring mark on Tarnów through their unique culture and history that has gracefully intertwined with that of Poland.

QUIZ

1. Why is Tarnów called the ‘Pearl of the Renaissance’?

2. What is the height of the Town Hall’s tower?

3. Where are the ashes of General Józef Bem located?

4. Can you name two figures of Jewish ancestry that are associated with Tarnów?

5. What is the event organized each year in July by the Tarnów Ethnographic Museum called?

6. Why does Tarnów seem to be strongly influenced by numbers?

7. Why is Tarnów known as a ‘Polish Hot – Spot’?

Tarnów

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