Tarnowskie Góry
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Tarnowskie Góry (; ; ) is a city in
Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...
, southern
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, located in the Silesian Highlands near
Katowice Katowice (, ) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Katowice urban area. As of 2021, Katowice has an official population of 286,960, and a resident population estimate of around 315,000. K ...
and seat city of Tarnowskie Góry County Located in the north of the
Metropolis GZM The Metropolis GZM (, formally in Polish (Upper Silesian-Dąbrowa Basin Metropolis)) is a metropolitan association () composed of 41 contiguous gminas, with a total population of over 2 million, covering most of the Katowice metropolitan area i ...
, a
megalopolis A megalopolis () or a supercity, also called a megaregion, is a group of metropolitan areas which are perceived as a continuous urban area through common systems of transport, economy, resources, ecology, and so on. They are integrated enough ...
, the greater
Katowice-Ostrava metropolitan area The Katowice-Ostrava metropolitan areaBrookings Institutionbr>Redefining global cities: The seven types of global metro economies(2016), p. 16. European Spatial Planning Observation Network (ESPON"''Metroborder: Cross-border Polycentric Metropol ...
populated by about 5,294,000 people. The population of the town is 61,842 (2021) making it one of the biggest towns in
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
. As of 1999, it is part of
Silesian Voivodeship Silesian Voivodeship ( ) is an administrative province in southern Poland. With over 4.2 million residents and an area of 12,300 square kilometers, it is the second-most populous, and the most-densely populated and most-urbanized region of Poland ...
, previously
Katowice Voivodeship Katowice Voivodeship () can refer to one of two political entities in Poland: Katowice Voivodeship (1), initially "Silesian-Dabrowa Voivodeship" (), was a unit of administrative division and local government in the years 1946–1975. It was super ...
. The Historic Silver Mine of Tarnowskie Góry, a
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
is located in the town.


Names and etymology

The name of Tarnowskie Góry is derived from ''Tarnowice'', name of a local village and word ''góry'' which in Old Polish meant "mines". In a Prussian document from 1750 (published in the Polish language in
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
by
Frederick the Great Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself ''King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prussia ...
712–1786, the town is mentioned, among other Silesian towns, as "Tarnowskie Góry". The German name ''Tarnowitz'' was introduced in the late 18th century, after the Third Silesian War (between
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
and
Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
). As a result of Germanization of the area, all Polish names received German equivalents (usually closely resembling the original, like ''Kattowitz'' for
Katowice Katowice (, ) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Katowice urban area. As of 2021, Katowice has an official population of 286,960, and a resident population estimate of around 315,000. K ...
).


History


Early

The earliest settlements around Tarnowskie Góry date back to over 20 thousand years BC. Traces of the
Upper Paleolithic The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories ...
inhabitants were found in village of Rybna, within present-day town borders. During the
Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
people lived along the banks of river Stoła ''(Polish)'' or Stola, (name derived from German Stollenwasser
Adit An adit (from Latin ''aditus'', entrance) or stulm is a horizontal or nearly horizontal passage to an underground mine. Miners can use adits for access, drainage, ventilation, and extracting minerals at the lowest convenient level. Adits are a ...
water earlier this river was known as "Rybna" (derived from a Polish word for "fish"), their tools, jewelry and weapons were excavated here, dating from between the 8th and 5th centuries BC. Silver, lead and zinc were bountiful in these grounds and the evidence of an early metal production dates back to at least 3rd century AD.


Medieval and Renaissance

In the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
the region was inhabited by Lechitic Polish tribes, and in the 10th century it became part of the emerging Polish state under its first ruler
Mieszko I of Poland Mieszko I (; – 25 May 992) was Duchy of Poland (966–1025), Duke of Poland from 960 until his death in 992 and the founder of the first unified History of Poland, Polish state, the Civitas Schinesghe. A member of the Piast dynasty, he was t ...
. Repty Śląskie, a village, now within Tarnowskie Góry's town limits, was mentioned in an official papal document dating from September 12, 1201. The present-day district of Stare Tarnowice was the location of a
motte-and-bailey castle A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy ...
from the 14th century, which is now an archaeological site. According to legend, the source of silver ore (solely responsible for the town's existence) was first discovered in 1490, when local peasant-farmer named Rybka found a strange, heavy, metallic stone while plowing the field near village of Tarnowice. He presented his find to a local priest and within less than three decades this place became the largest
silver mining Silver mining is the extraction of silver by mining. Silver is a precious metal and holds high economic value. Because silver is often found in intimate combination with other metals, its extraction requires the use of complex technologies. In ...
center in the area. Its population rivaled in size some of the major cities of the Renaissance world and prospectors were coming from all corners of the continent, some as far as
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, all of this fueled by the massive amount and quality of ore, so high that on many occasions it was said to be practically pure, metallic silver. Initial growth can be attributed to Jan II the Good, the last Duke of
Opole Opole (; ; ; ) is a city located in southern Poland on the Oder River and the historical capital of Upper Silesia. With a population of approximately 127,387 as of the 2021 census, it is the capital of Opole Voivodeship (province) and the seat of ...
and
Racibórz Racibórz (, , , ) is a city in Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland. It is the administrative seat of Racibórz County. With Opole, Racibórz is one of the historic capitals of Upper Silesia, being the residence of the Duchy of Racibórz, Du ...
of the first Polish dynasty of
Piast The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of King Casimir III the Great. Branches of ...
, and George, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (from the
House of Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, ; , ; ) is a formerly royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) German dynasty whose members were variously princes, Prince-elector, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern Castle, Hohenzollern, Margraviate of Bran ...
), both of whom, in 1526, gave the town special privileges called "Akt Wolności Górniczej" (The Miners’ Freedom Act). This revolutionary document awarded freedom to any peasant who chose to become a miner in the area; the same year new settlement was officially elevated to the town-status, christened Tarnowskie Góry and received additional set of
town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...
and rights, cote of arms and official seal followed few decades later in 1562. In 1528, "Ordunek Górny" (the Mining Ordinance) strongly promoting farther exploration and offering a high percentage of profits to miners, was proclaimed and sparked a period of an explosive growth and prosperity. Many other associated businesses like trade, manufacturing, crafts etc., were rapidly developing and most of the old-town was already in place by 1540, including many of still existing brick and stone buildings and Protestant church. By the mid-16th century Tarnowskie Góry became the largest mining center in
Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( ; ; ; ; Silesian German: ; ) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located today mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic. The area is predominantly known for its heav ...
and one of the largest in Europe; the combined length of main tunnels (main tunnels were the passages with clearance of over in height) constructed under the 1sq mile of old town alone, exceed , still, representing only a small fraction of a total underground system. Many
Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
found refuge in Tarnowskie Góry, and after the death of John II the Good (1532) town was ruled by the family of
Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, ; , ; ) is a formerly royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) German dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenburg, Prussia, the German Empire, and Romania. ...
, supporters of
reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
movement. The first Protestant, wooden church was built in 1529 and two years later a stone structure was erected to replace it. In 1531, Szkola Różnowiercza (The Reformation School) was created and at the end of the 16th century was run by Daniel Franconius, famous scholar, educator, poet, and a propagator of
Arianism Arianism (, ) is a Christology, Christological doctrine which rejects the traditional notion of the Trinity and considers Jesus to be a creation of God, and therefore distinct from God. It is named after its major proponent, Arius (). It is co ...
.


Enlightenment

The prosperity of Tarnowskie Góry was abruptly halted by the
Thirty Year War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine, or disease, whil ...
(1618–1648), and in 1676–77 its population was farther decimated by an outbreak of plague (which two years later reached the Austrian capital). In 1683, Polish King
John III Sobieski John III Sobieski ( (); (); () 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696. Born into Polish nobility, Sobieski was educated at the Jagiellonian University and toured Eur ...
rested in town on his way to the
Battle of Vienna The Battle of Vienna took place at Kahlenberg Mountain near Vienna on 1683 after the city had been besieged by the Ottoman Empire for two months. The battle was fought by the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarchy) and the Polish–Li ...
(where he led the famous
Hussars A hussar, ; ; ; ; . was a member of a class of light cavalry, originally from the Kingdom of Hungary during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely adopted by light cavalry ...
branch of Polish cavalry to victory in defeating the Ottoman army and stopping the progress of their European invasion). In Tarnowskie Góry,
Polish nobility The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...
welcomed the newly elected kings
Augustus II the Strong Augustus II the Strong (12 May 1670 – 1 February 1733), was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1697 to 1706 and from 1709 until his death in 1733. He belonged to the Albertine branch of the H ...
and
Augustus III of Poland Augustus III (; – "the Saxon"; ; 17 October 1696 5 October 1763) was List of Polish monarchs, King of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1733 until 1763, as well as List of rulers of Saxony, Elector of Saxony i ...
, in July 1697 and January 1734, respectively, when they were heading for their royal coronations to
Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
. December 16, 1740, was marked by the Prussian army entering the town during the first of the
Silesian Wars The Silesian Wars () were three wars fought in the mid-18th century between Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia (under King Frederick the Great) and Habsburg monarchy, Habsburg Austria (under Empress Maria Theresa) for control of the Central European ...
; in 1742, Austrian domination ended and Tarnowskie Góry fell under
Prussian Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, the House of Hohenzoll ...
rule. In 1742, after the end of Austrian rule, a Lutheran parish was established, whose first pastor was Polish religious writer and author of popular prayer-books Samuel Ludwik Zasadius. Around 1780 Friedrich Wilhelm von Reden opened a government-controlled mine as well as silver and lead foundry named "Frederyk" after Frederick William II, the king of Prussia.
Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
, with a few exceptions, were restricted or altogether banned from the area throughout the years; yet still they managed to have a great impact on the entire region's progress. Salomon Isaac, Jewish trade-agent and mining entrepreneur, was one of the greatest contributors to the development of the Sillesian metallurgical and mining industries and, ultimately, become one of the managing officers of the newly formed Prussian Office of Mining in Tarnowskie Góry.


Industrial Revolution

In 1788, sparking the onset of the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...
a
steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...
was imported from
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
and installed with a purpose of draining the underground waters. This was not a small task, miles of a deep
adit An adit (from Latin ''aditus'', entrance) or stulm is a horizontal or nearly horizontal passage to an underground mine. Miners can use adits for access, drainage, ventilation, and extracting minerals at the lowest convenient level. Adits are a ...
or drainage-tunnel. A 600-metre part of former Fryderyk adit is a tourist route named Black Trout Adit. Its tunnels were cut through a solid bedrock and one of the system outlets, near Repty, became the main contributory of river Drama. Although
Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
damaged and put a burden of heavy taxation on it, the town experienced another boom of growth and prosperity in the 19th century. In 1803 one of world's first schools of mining was initiated and, during following few decades, many new factories and businesses opened including: paper mill, iron foundry, printing shop, brewery, soap factory and
natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...
production plant. During that period, the town square and two main streets were paved,
gas lighting Gas lighting is the production of artificial light from combustion of a fuel gas such as methane, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, coal gas (town gas) or natural gas. The light is produced either directly by ...
illuminated the town and a sewage system was installed. "Górnośląska Spółka Bracka" (The Upper-Silesian Brotherhood Cooperative) was organized with its headquarters in Tarnowskie Góry; (this revolutionary institution functioned as an insurance company for miners and covered the entire
Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( ; ; ; ; Silesian German: ; ) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located today mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic. The area is predominantly known for its heav ...
n region with 17,821 initial members). In 1857 the first railroad, leading to
Opole Opole (; ; ; ) is a city located in southern Poland on the Oder River and the historical capital of Upper Silesia. With a population of approximately 127,387 as of the 2021 census, it is the capital of Opole Voivodeship (province) and the seat of ...
, reached the town and eight years later Warsaw–Vienna line cut-through as well. Throughout the next few decades, because of its strategic location, the number of railroad lines grew rapidly, and by the end of the 19th century Tarnowskie Góry was well on its way to becoming the second largest marshaling yard in Europe. Poles smuggled large amounts of gunpowder through the town to the
Russian Partition The Russian Partition (), sometimes called Russian Poland, constituted the former territories of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that were annexed by the Russian Empire in the course of late-18th-century Partitions of Poland. The Russian ac ...
of Poland during the
January Uprising The January Uprising was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at putting an end to Russian occupation of part of Poland and regaining independence. It began on 22 January 1863 and continued until the last i ...
in 1863. In 1873 a new county was formed in the area with Tarnowskie Góry as its capital; a hospital and court building were opened soon after.


Modern

In the beginning of the 20th century, the source of the silver ore dried out and the mining stopped completely. According to the 1910 German census, in the city of Tarnowitz 76% of the population reported German as their sole mother tongue while 17% reported Polish, with the remainder reporting as bilingual; in the entire district of Tarnowitz including outlying villages, the figures were 27% German-speaking and 67% Polish-speaking. After
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
ended, between 1919 and 1921 three massive anti-German uprisings took place in entire Upper Silesian region and many of towns residents fought and supported the cause. Soon after the end of the third one, mandated by the
Versailles Treaty The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace of Versailles, exactl ...
, the Silesian Plebiscite was held, and in the Tarnowitz district 61.7% voted for integration with newly independent Poland while 38.3% voted to remain with Germany;Die Volksabstimmung in Oberschlesien 1921: Tarnowitz
in the city of Tarnowitz however, 82% of the participants favored Germany in large part due to "imported" votes and the higher proportion of Germans in urban areas. In 1922, after over 300 years of Austrian and Prussian domination, Tarnowskie Góry was returned to Polish governance. In the interwar period the 11th Infantry Regiment of the
Polish Army The Land Forces () are the Army, land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 110,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military histor ...
was stationed in Tarnowskie Góry. At the onset of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
in September 1939, Poland was invaded by Germany and
Nazi German Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...
occupation began. On September 6–8, 1939, the '' Einsatzgruppe II'' entered the town to commit various crimes against Poles. Mass searches of Polish organizations, offices and houses, and mass arrests of priests, teachers,
intelligentsia The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the i ...
and fighters of three anti-German, Silesian Uprisings (1919–1921) took place. The synagogue was burned while German minority enthusiastically welcomed invading Nazi forces. Already by September 1939, the Germans had murdered over 20 Poles in the present-day districts of Lasowice, Strzybnica and Repty Śląskie.Wardzyńska, p. 135-136 Among the victims were miners, former insurgents and a school principal from nearby
Chorzów Chorzów ( ; ; ) is a city in the Silesia region of southern Poland, near Katowice. Chorzów is one of the central cities of the Metropolis GZM – a metropolis with a population of 2 million. It is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Rawa ...
. Germany established and operated a prison for Poles in the town. During the occupation, the
Armia Krajowa The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the ...
(Home Army, the leading Polish underground resistance organization) undertook a sabotage campaign against Nazi forces, railroad-transport and local industry. The Germans operated two
forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...
subcamps of the Stalag VIII-B/344
prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...
in the town. Liberation of Silesia came in early 1945; in order to save the industrial infrastructure of the region, the
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
opened an offensive supported by massive numbers of troops with minimal use of heavy artillery and air-bombardment. According to witnesses, the entire operation was extremely fast; countless, shoulder-to-shoulder, crowds of Russian soldiers passed through the town in matter of minutes followed by almost complete still.


Recent

The decades following the end of World War II saw an influx of immigrants from other parts of Poland (including its former eastern provinces) to take over property of expelled German inhabitants, and as a result of planned-economy developments. Several large factories opened in Tarnowskie Góry's area including: FASER (the largest manufacturer of safety equipment and mining lamps in Soviet bloc), FAZOS (the manufacturer of automated mine-wall reinforcements), ZAMET (manufacturer of metallurgical equipment), CHEMET (manufacturer of chemical equipment), and Lead and Zinc Mill Miasteczko Slaskie (the second largest facility of this kind in Europe). All of these "
Moloch Moloch, Molech, or Molek is a word which appears in the Hebrew Bible several times, primarily in the Book of Leviticus. The Greek Septuagint translates many of these instances as "their king", but maintains the word or name ''Moloch'' in others, ...
s" employed thousands of workers and emitted countless
pollutants A pollutant or novel entity is a substance or energy introduced into the environment that has undesired effect, or adversely affects the usefulness of a resource. These can be both naturally forming (i.e. minerals or extracted compounds like oi ...
into the surrounding environment. For decades the railroad industry remained one of the largest local employers, however, due to an aging infrastructure, it slowly decreased in volume and other cities of the area begun to handle more and more of the rail traffic in terms of both cargo and passenger trains. The fall of
Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. On the east side of the Iron Curtain were countries connected to the So ...
in 1989 brought freedom back to Poland accompanied by the chaos of restructuring and
privatization Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...
, which led to a small but steady decline of population, beginning in mid-1990s and lasting throughout the first decade of the 21st century. Today, Tarnowskie Góry is an industrial, cultural, educational, and technological center and tourist destination.


Places and attractions

* Historical Mine Of Silver Ores, a
UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
. * Black Trout Adit, one of Poland's official national Historic Monuments, as designated May 1, 2004. Its listing is maintained by the National Heritage Board of Poland. * Town Square (''Rynek''), adorned by string of old romantic Renaissance arcade buildings, a 17th-century Protestant church, the building of the town's first
pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medication, medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it ...
and crowned by an impressive town hall; it is spotted with shops, bars, restaurants etc., including the Sedlaczek Wine House, a charming restaurant and tavern opened in 1786, located in a 16th-century building which hosted many renowned people including Polish kings
John III Sobieski John III Sobieski ( (); (); () 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696. Born into Polish nobility, Sobieski was educated at the Jagiellonian University and toured Eur ...
,
Augustus II the Strong Augustus II the Strong (12 May 1670 – 1 February 1733), was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1697 to 1706 and from 1709 until his death in 1733. He belonged to the Albertine branch of the H ...
,
Augustus III Augustus III (; – "the Saxon"; ; 17 October 1696 5 October 1763) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1733 until 1763, as well as Elector of Saxony in the Holy Roman Empire where he was known as Frederick Augustus II (). He w ...
, Russian
tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...
Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon from 495 to 454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Alexander I Theopator Euergetes, surnamed Balas, ruler of the Seleucid Empire 150-145 BC * Pope Alex ...
and German poet
Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...
, also housing the Tarnowskie Góry Museum, opened in 1958. * Upper Silesia Narrow Gauge Railways – the world's oldest
narrow gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...
in continuous service since
1853 Events January–March * January 6 – ** Florida Governor Thomas Brown signs legislation that provides public support for the new East Florida Seminary, leading to the establishment of the University of Florida. **U.S. President-elect ...
br>
* 16th-century :pl:Dzwonnica Gwarków, Gwareks' bell-tower ("Gwarek" an old-Polish reference to miners). * Church of Saints Peter and Paul, built in the 16th century in the
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
style, and later rebuilt in
Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...
style. *
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
Stare Tarnowice Castle, located in the Stare Tarnowice district *
Baroque architecture Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the late 16th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means to ...
-
Classicist Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...
Rybna Palace, located in the Rybna district * Gwarki Tarnogórskie – since 1957 this annual event and out-door fest, held in first half of September, commemorates and celebrates mining-culture of the region; including: historical-costume parade, outdoor concerts, regional food-concessions and other entertainment and sporting events. * Water Park, large recreational complex which includes in and outdoor pools, sports pool, sea-wave pool, rapid river, water slides, Jacuzzi and brine bath. * Park Repty Ślaskie and river Drama Valley ( Repty Park) - over of park complex. Originated in the mid-19th century by Donnersmarck family in an effort to create private hunting grounds and to preserve natural ecology of the region; (due to rapid industrial and
agricultural expansion Agricultural expansion describes the growth of agricultural land ( arable land, pastures, etc.) especially in the 20th and 21st centuries. The agricultural expansion is often explained as a direct consequence of the global increase in food and e ...
the environment of Upper Silesia was dramatically changing and disappearing; plant species from entire Silesian region were brought-in to recreate the original pre-industrial landscape along the banks of romantic Drama river valley. The park includes Black Trout Adit with two entrances, "Ewa" and "Sylwester" available to the public, Upper-Silesian Rehabilitation Center "Repty", and variety of plant and animal habitats that are unique to the region. * Classicist Karłuszowiec Palace Complex, located in Karłuszowiec, within the Śródmieście-Centrum district, now housing an art school * Castles, palaces and historical churches – Tarnowskie Góry is surrounded by such a structures that include: Brynek, Kamieniec, Kopienica, Łubie, Miedary-Kopanina, Nakło Śląskie, Szałsza, Świerklaniec, Tworóg, Wilkowice and Zbrosławice. Many of lavish residences and palaces belonged to Donnersmarck family (after
Krupp Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp (formerly Fried. Krupp AG and Friedrich Krupp GmbH), trade name, trading as Krupp, was the largest company in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century as well as Germany's premier weapons manufacturer dur ...
the second richest in 19th and early 20th century Europe) * Świerklaniec – located within a bicycle-trip distance from Tarnowskie Góry, this spectacular park claims to be the only, pure English-style Park in continental Europe; once a home to a 19th-century palace, the main residence of Donnersmarck family, and fully preserved Piast dynasty medieval castle (both structures destroyed during World War II and the post-war Soviet era). Grandiose palace sometimes called "miniature Versailles" was built by Guido Henckel von Donnersmarck for his mistress Pauline Thérèse Lachmann, the most successful of 19th-century French courtesans, also known as "La Paiva", who later became his wife Countess Henckel von Donnersmarck and died here in 1884. All building materials as well as artists, sculptors and labor involved in erecting this structure were imported from France. Today Świerklaniec Park is open to public however only romantic guest house and set of magnificent fountains and sculptures remain from palatial complex that once stood here. During the sixties large, man-made lake was added to the north.


Notable people

* John II the Good (1460–1532), Duke of Opole, last one of the Opole line of the
Piast dynasty The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented List of Polish monarchs, Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I of Poland, Mieszko I (–992). The Poland during the Piast dynasty, Piasts' royal rule in Pol ...
, co-founder of Tarnowskie Góry. * George, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (1484–1543), from the
House of Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, ; , ; ) is a formerly royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) German dynasty whose members were variously princes, Prince-elector, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern Castle, Hohenzollern, Margraviate of Bran ...
, co-founder of Tarnowskie Góry. * George Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (1539–1603), from the
House of Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, ; , ; ) is a formerly royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) German dynasty whose members were variously princes, Prince-elector, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern Castle, Hohenzollern, Margraviate of Bran ...
, who gave a coat of arms to Tarnowskie Góry. * Rudolf von Carnall (1804–1874), engineering geologist * Donnersmarck family, for over two centuries owners of most of the town and surrounding lands. * Salomon Isaac (1730–1794), Jewish trade agent and mining
entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...
, one of the founders of Upper Silesian mining and metallurgical industries * Stefan Jurkowski (born 1948), poet, publicist, literary critic, journalist * Donat Kirsch (born 1953), author, novelist and essayist * Alexander Kohut (1865–1967), talmudist and orientalist, rabbi of Tarnowitz * Andrzej Korosiewicz (born 1972), musician and poet * Pauline Thérèse Lachmann, Countess Henckel von Donnersmarck, also known as La Païva (1819–1884), the most successful of 19th-century French courtesans * Michał Lewek (1878–1967), Roman Catholic priest * Bolesław Lubosz (1928–2001), poet, essayist and translator * Martin Max (born 1968), German footballer * Krzysztof Miller (born 1962), photographer, camera operator and filmmaker *
Jan Miodek Jan Franciszek Miodek (born 7 June 1946 in Tarnowskie Góry, Silesian Voivodeship), is a Polish linguist, a prescriptive grammarian and a professor of Wrocław University. He is regarded as one of the most prominent educators and promoters of t ...
(born 1946), linguist * Paweł Musioł (1905–1943), politician, educator, publicist and historian of Silesian literature * Dariusz Świercz (born 1994), chess grandmaster * Józef Wandzik (born 1963), footballer * Martin Websky (1824–1886), German mineralogist who discovered and described a variation of
Aragonite Aragonite is a carbonate mineral and one of the three most common naturally occurring crystal forms of calcium carbonate (), the others being calcite and vaterite. It is formed by biological and physical processes, including precipitation fr ...
and named it "Tarnowicyt" (from Tarnowskie Góry) *
Carl Wernicke Carl (or Karl) Wernicke (; ; 15 May 1848 – 15 June 1905) was a German physician, anatomist, psychiatrist and neuropathologist. He is known for his influential research into the pathological effects of specific forms of encephalopathy and also ...
(1848–1905), physician and neuropathologist * Jolanta Wilk (born 1961), actress * Robert Wojsyk (born 1990), footballer * Klaus Wyrtki (1925–2013), geophysicist * Łukasz Żelezny (born 1981), composer and DJ


Twin towns – sister cities

Tarnowskie Góry is twinned with: *
Békéscsaba Békéscsaba (; ; see also #Name, other alternative names) is a city with county rights in southeast Hungary, the capital of Békés County. Geography Békéscsaba is located in the Great Hungarian Plain, southeast from Budapest. Highway 44, 47 ...
, Hungary *
Bernburg Bernburg (Saale) () is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, capital of the Salzlandkreis district. The former residence of the Anhalt-Bernburg princes is known for its Renaissance castle. Geography The town centre is situated in the fertile Magdeb ...
, Germany *
Kutná Hora Kutná Hora (; ) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 22,000 inhabitants. The history of Kutná Hora is linked to silver mining, which made it a rich and rapidly developing town. The centre of Kutná Hora, i ...
, Czech Republic * Méricourt, France


See also

* Spoil tip in Tarnowskie Góry


References


External links


Municipal websiteTarnowskie Góry – PortalTarnowskie Góry – Cultural EventsTarnowskie Góry – Portal Informacyjny
''(Polish)''
Jewish Community in Tarnowskie Góry
on Virtual Shtetl

''(German)''
Map of interwar Poland; shows plebiscite areas
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarnowskie Gory Cities and towns in Silesian Voivodeship Tarnowskie Góry County Archaeological sites in Poland Sites of Nazi war crimes during the Invasion of Poland Holocaust locations in Poland Intelligenzaktion massacre locations Populated riverside places in Poland