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Tarnów () is a city in southeastern
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 ...
with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the
Lesser Poland Voivodeship Lesser Poland Voivodeship ( ) is a voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship in southern Poland. It has an area of , and a population of 3,404,863 (2019). Its capital and largest city is Kraków. The province's name recalls the traditional name of a h ...
. It is a major rail junction, located on the strategic east–west connection from
Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...
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 ...
, and two additional lines, one of which links the city with the Slovak border. Tarnów is known for its traditional Polish architecture, which was influenced by foreign cultures and foreigners that once lived in the area, most notably
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 ...
,
Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...
and
Austrians Austrians (, ) are the citizens and Nationality, nationals of Austria. The English term ''Austrians'' was applied to the population of Archduchy of Austria, Habsburg Austria from the 17th or 18th century. Subsequently, during the 19th century, ...
. The Old Town, featuring 16th century tenements, houses and defensive walls, has been preserved. Tarnów is also the warmest city of Poland, with the highest long-term mean annual temperature in the whole country. Companies headquartered in the city include Poland's largest chemical industry company Grupa Azoty and defence industry company ZMT. The city is currently subdivided into 16 districts and is a member of the Association of Polish Cities (''Związek Miast Polskich'').


Names and etymology

The first documented mention of the settlement dates back to 1105, spelled as ''Tharnow''. The name later evolved to ''Tarnowo'' (1229), ''Tarnów'' (1327), and ''Tharnow'' (1473). The place name Tarnów is widely used in different forms across
Slavic Europe Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to: Peoples * Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia ** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples ** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples ** West Slavi ...
, and lands which used to be inhabited by
Slavs The Slavs or Slavic people are groups of people who speak Slavic languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout the northern parts of Eurasia; they predominantly inhabit Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, and ...
, such as eastern
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
,
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
, and northern
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
. There is a German town, Tarnow, Greek Tyrnavos (also spelled as Tirnovo), Czech Trnov, Bulgarian Veliko Tarnovo and Malko Tarnovo, as well as different Trnovos/Trnowos in
Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
,
Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
,
Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
, Bosnia, and
North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...
. The name ''Tarnów'' comes from an early Slavic word ''trn/tarn'', which means "thorn", or an area covered by thorny plants.


History

Already in the mid-9th century, on the Tarnów's St. Martin Mount (Góra sw. Marcina, 2.5 kilometers from the centre of today's city), a Slavic gord was established, probably by the Vistulans. Due to efforts of local archaeologists, we know that the size of the gord was almost 16
hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...
s, and it was surrounded by a
rampart Rampart may refer to: * Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement Rampart may also refer to: * LAPD Rampart Division, a division of the Los Angeles Police Department ** Rampart scandal, a blanket ter ...
. The settlement was probably destroyed in the 1030s or the 1050s, during either a popular rebellion against Christianity (see Baptism of Poland), or Czech invasion of Lesser Poland. In the mid-11th century, a new gord was established on the Biała river. It was a royal property, which in the late 11th or early 12th century was handed over to the Tyniec
Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
Abbey. The name Tarnów, with a different spelling, was for the first time mentioned in a document of Papal legate, Cardinal Gilles de Paris (1124). The first documented mention of Tarnów occurs in the year 1309, when a list of miracles of Kinga of Poland specifies a woman named Marta, who was resident of the settlement. In 1327, a knight named Spicymir ( Leliwa coat of arms) purchased a village of Tarnów Wielki, and three years later, founded his own private town. On 7 March 1330, King Władysław I the Elbow-high granted Magdeburg rights to Tarnów. One year later, construction of a castle on the St. Martin Hill was completed by Castellan of Kraków, Spycimir Leliwita of Leliwa coat of arms (its ruins can still be seen). Tarnów remained in the hands of the Leliwa family, out of which in the 15th century the Tarnowski family emerged. In the 14th century, numerous German settlers immigrated from
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 ...
and
Nowy Sącz Nowy Sącz (; ; ; ; ) is a city in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship of southern Poland. It is the district capital of Nowy Sącz County as a separate administrative unit. With a population of 83,116 as of 2021, it is the largest city in the Beskid S ...
(see Walddeutsche, Ostsiedlung). During the 17th century Scottish immigrants began to come in large numbers. In 1528 the exiled
King of Hungary The King of Hungary () was the Monarchy, ruling head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 (or 1001) to 1918. The style of title "Apostolic King of Hungary" (''Magyarország apostoli királya'') was endorsed by Pope Clement XIII in 1758 ...
János Szapolyai János is a masculine Hungarian given name. It originates from the Hebrew name Johanan and is thus a variant of the English name John. People Notable people with the name include: * János Aczél (mathematician) (1924–2020), Hungarian ...
lived in the town. The town prospered during the Polish Golden Age, when it belonged to Hetman Jan Tarnowski (1488–1561). In the mid-16th century, its population was app. 1,200, with 200 houses located within town's defensive wall (the wall itself had been built in the mid-15th century, and expanded in the early 16th century). In 1467, the waterworks and sewage systems were completed, with large cisterns filled with drinking water built in the main market square. In the 16th century, during the period known as the Polish Golden Age, Tarnów had a school, a synagogue, a
Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...
prayer house, Roman Catholic churches, and up to twelve
guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...
s.


Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

After the death of Jan Tarnowski (16 May 1561), Italian sculptor Jan Maria Padovano began creating one of the most beautiful examples of
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 ...
headstone A gravestone or tombstone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. A marker set at the head of the grave may be called a headstone. An especially old or elaborate stone slab may be called a funeral stele, stela, or slab. The u ...
s in the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
. The monument of hetman Tarnowski is almost 14 meters tall, and stands in St. Anne Chapel, which is located in northern
nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
of the Tarnów Cathedral. Padovano completed his work in 1573; furthermore, he designed the Renaissance town hall, and oversaw its remodelling in the 1560s. At that time, in 28 niches of the town hall were portraits of members of the Tarnowski family – from Spicymir Leliwita to Jan Krzysztof Tarnowski, who died in 1567. In 1570 Tarnów became property of the Ostrogski family, after Zofia Tarnowska, the daughter of the hetman, married prince Konstanty Wasyl Ostrogski. In 1588, after Konstanty's death, the town changed hands several times, belonging to different families, which slowed its development. Until the
Partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partition (politics), partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the eli ...
, Tarnów belonged to the County of Pilzno, Sandomierz Voivodeship. The town, like almost all locations of Lesser Poland, was devastated in October 1655, during the Swedish invasion of Poland, and as a result, its population declined from 2,000 to 768. In 1723, the town became the property of the Sanguszko family, which purchased it from the Lubomirski family.


Habsburg Empire

After the
first partition of Poland The First Partition of Poland took place in 1772 as the first of three partitions that eventually ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The growth of power in the Russian Empire threatened the Kingdom of Prussia an ...
(1772), Tarnów was annexed by the Habsburg Empire, and remained in Austrian Galicia until late 1918. Austrian subjugation brought changes, as the town ceased to be private property, became the seat of a county (German: kreis), and of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tarnów (1783). On 14 March 1794, Józef Bem was born in Tarnów. In the 1830s, under the influence of events in
Congress Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established w ...
(see
November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...
), Tarnów emerged as a center of Polish conspiratorial organizations. Plans for a national uprising in Galicia failed in early 1846, when local peasants began murdering the nobility in the Galician slaughter. The massacre, led by Jakub Szela (born in Smarżowa), began on 18 February 1846. Szela's peasant units surrounded and attacked manor houses and settlements located in three counties – Sanok, Jasło, and Tarnów. According to Austrians, the revolt got out of hand and the Austrians had to put it down as they were subjugating a previously free people. Tarnów went through the period of quick development in the second half of the 19th century, due to the program of construction of the railway system. In 1852, the town received rail connection with
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 ...
, due to the Galician Railway of Archduke Charles Louis, and in 1870, its population was 21,779. In 1878, gas lighting was introduced, and three years later, the first daily newspaper appeared. In 1888, the Diocese Museum was founded by Rev. Jozef Baba, and in 1910, Tarnów received modern waterworks, a power plant and a new complex of the main rail station. The city remained a hotspot of Polish conspirational activities, with up to 20% of all members of the
Polish Legions in World War I The Polish Legions () was a name of the Polish military force (the first active Polish army in generations) established in August 1914 in Galicia (Central Europe), Galicia soon after World War I erupted between the opposing alliances of the Trip ...
coming from Tarnów and its area. On 10 November 1914, units of the
Russian Imperial Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...
captured Tarnów, and remained in the city until 6 May 1915 (see Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive). In the early stages of the offensive, Tarnów was shelled by German-Austrian heavy artillery, which brought destruction to some of its districts.


Second Polish Republic

Tarnów was one of the first Polish cities to be freed during the rebirth of Poland following World War I. The Polish Legions liberated the city on the night of 30–31 October 1918. In the
Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...
, Tarnów belonged to Kraków Voivodeship, and gave the newly established country many outstanding figures, such as Franciszek Latinik and Wincenty Witos. In early 1927, construction of a large chemical plant was initiated in the suburban village of , which is now a part of the industrial borough of Mościce, a district of the city. Before the outbreak 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 ...
, the population of Tarnów was 40,000, of which almost half were Jewish. On 28 August 1939, a German Nazi saboteur conducted the Tarnów rail station bomb attack killing 20 civilians and wounding 35, four days before the
invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...
by
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
and the outbreak 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 Europe.


World War II

During the German invasion of Poland, the city was overrun by the German forces on 7 September 1939. Under German occupation, Tarnów was incorporated into the
General Government The General Government (, ; ; ), formally the General Governorate for the Occupied Polish Region (), was a German zone of occupation established after the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, Slovak Republic (1939–1945), Slovakia and the Soviet ...
territory as the seat of the ''Kreishauptmanschaft Tarnow'' administrative unit in the Kraków District on 26 October 1939. In September 1939, the '' Einsatzgruppe I'' entered the city to commit atrocities against Poles, and the ''Einsatzgruppe zbV'' entered to take over the Polish industry. Poles expelled in December 1939 from various places in German-annexed western Poland were deported in freight trains to Tarnów. On 14 June 1940, the first mass transport left the Tarnów station to
Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...
, with 728 Polish political prisoners, including at least 67 underage boys. All throughout the German occupation of Poland Tarnów was an important center of the Armia Krajowa (AK) and other resistance organizations. In mid-1944 AK's 16th Infantry Regiment "Barbara" took part in
Operation Tempest file:Akcja_burza_1944.png, 210px, right Operation Tempest or Operation Burza (, sometimes referred to in English as "Operation Storm") was a series of uprisings conducted during World War II against occupying German forces by the Polish Home Arm ...
. After the
Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising (; ), sometimes referred to as the August Uprising (), or the Battle of Warsaw, was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from ...
, in October 1944, the Germans deported 3,000 Varsovians from the Dulag 121 camp in
Pruszków Pruszków is a city in east-central Poland, capital of Pruszków County in the Masovian Voivodeship. Pruszków is located along the western edge of the Warsaw metropolitan area. Pruszków is the largest city in the Warsaw metropolitan area outs ...
, where they were initially imprisoned, to Tarnów. Those Poles were mainly old people, ill people and women with children. The
Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...
retreated from Tarnów on 18 January 1945, and the city was captured by 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 ...
, and then restored to Poland.


Post-war period

A few months later, the Museum of Tarnów Land was opened, and Tarnów began a postwar recovery. In 1957, State Theatre of Ludwik Solski was opened. From 1975 to 1998, it was the capital of the Tarnów Voivodeship.


The Jews of Tarnów

Before World War II, about 25,000 Jews lived in Tarnów. Jews, whose recorded presence in the town went back to the mid-15th century, comprised about half of the town's total population. A large portion of Jewish business in Tarnów was devoted to garment and hat manufacturing. The Jewish community was ideologically diverse and included religious Hasidim, secular Zionists, and many more.Jewish Community in Tarnów
on Virtual Shtetl, the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
.
Immediately following the German occupation of the city on 8 September 1939, the persecution of the Jews began. German units burned down most of the city's synagogues on 9 September and drafted Jews for forced-labor projects. Tarnów was incorporated into the Generalgouvernement. Many Tarnów Jews fled to the east, while a large influx of refugees from elsewhere in occupied Poland continued to increase the town's Jewish population. In early November, the Germans ordered the establishment of a Jewish council ( Judenrat) to transmit orders and regulations to the Jewish community. Among the duties of the Jewish council were enforcement of special taxation on the community and providing workers for forced labor. During 1941, life for the Jews of Tarnów became increasingly precarious. The Germans imposed a large collective fine on the community. Jews were required to hand in their valuables. Roundups for labor became more frequent and killings became more commonplace and arbitrary. Deportations from Tarnów began in June 1942, when about 13,500 Jews were sent to the Belzec extermination camp. The first major act in the extermination of the Jews of Tarnów was the so-called "first operation" from 11–19 June 1942. The Germans gathered thousands of Jews in the Rynek (market place), and then they were tortured and killed. During this time period, on the streets of the town and in the Jewish cemetery, about 3,000 Jews were shot; in the woods of Zbylitowska Góra a few kilometers away from Tarnów a further 7,000 were murdered. According to a document from Michal Borawski born in 1926, featured at the entry of the Bimah as part of the panel offered by the Batory Foundation, the street stairs ("małe schody" or little stairs) from the town-center to the Bernardynski street (where the Bernardine Monastery is located), had to be cleaned of the blood by the local fire brigade for three days. Poles gave shelter to several Jewish escapees from the ghetto, however, several Poles were eventually captured and murdered by the Germans for rescuing Jews. Many Poles were imprisoned by the Germans in the local prison for rescuing and helping Jews and then often deported to Auschwitz and other concentration camps, in which some died, while some fortunately survived until the end of the war. After the June deportations, the Germans forced the surviving Jews of Tarnów, along with thousands of Jews from neighboring towns, into the new Tarnów Ghetto. The ghetto was surrounded by a high wooden fence. Living conditions in the ghetto were deplorable, marked by severe food shortages, a lack of sanitary facilities, and a forced-labor regimen in factories and workshops producing goods for the German war industry. In September 1942, the Germans ordered all ghetto residents to report to Targowica Square, where they were subjected to a 'selection' in which those deemed 'non-essential' were singled out for deportation to Belzec. About 8,000 people were deported. Thereafter, deportations from Tarnów to extermination camps continued sporadically; the Germans deported a group of 2,500 in November 1942.


Holocaust resistance

In the midst of the 1942 deportations, some Jews in Tarnów organized a Jewish resistance movement. Many of the resistance leaders were young Zionists involved in the Hashomer Hatzair youth movement. Many of those who left the ghetto to join the partisans fighting in the forests later fell in battle with SS units. Other resisters sought to establish escape routes to Hungary, but with limited success. The Germans decided to destroy the Tarnów ghetto in September 1943. The surviving 10,000 Jews were deported, 7,000 of them to Auschwitz and 3,000 to the Plaszow concentration camp in Kraków. In late 1943, Tarnów was declared "free of Jews" (Judenrein). By the end of the war, the overwhelming majority of Tarnów Jews had been murdered by the Germans. Although 700 Jews returned in 1945, some of them soon left the city. Many moved to
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
.


Property restoration


Our Lady of the Scapular

The church of Our Lady of the Scapular in Tarnów was built on a plot that was illegally obtained by the
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
from the descendants of Jewish Holocaust survivors. The plot, which belonged to a Goldman family, remained in the care of family friend Jerzy Poetschkes after Blanka Drillich (née Goldman), the last remnant of the family, left Poland after the war. In 1987 Poetchkes, with the advice of parish lawyers, claimed that the plot had been abandoned (i.e. the last owner is unknown, or had perished), despite being in contact with the Drillichs; he then sold half the plot and transferred the other half to the Church. In 2016, following a lengthy legal battle, a three judge panel found the Church had acted in bad faith and had no legal rights to the property. A year later the case was re-opened after the Church appealed to the local district attorney, with the personal involvement of Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro.


Geography

Tarnów lies at the Carpathian foothills, on the Dunajec and the Biała rivers. The area of the city is . It is divided into sixteen districts, known in Polish as osiedla. A few kilometers west of the city lies the district of Mościce, built in the late 1920s, together with a large chemical plant. Located to the southeast is Saint Martin's Peak. The district was named after President of Poland, Ignacy Mościcki.


Climate

Its climate is classified as marine west coast (''Cfb'') by
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
. Tarnów is one of the warmest cities in Poland. The average temperature in January is and in July. It is claimed that Tarnów has the longest summer in Poland spreading from mid May to mid September (above 118 days).


Economy

Tarnów is an important center of
economy An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...
and industry. The city has chemical plants including Zakłady Azotowe w Tarnowie-Mościcach S.A., which is part of Poland's biggest company operating within the chemical sector Grupa Azoty, Becker Farby Przemysłowe Sp. z o.o., Summit Packaging Polska Sp. z o.o.; as well as food plants (Fritar), building materials (Leier Polska S.A., Bruk-Bet), textiles (Spółdzielnia "Tarnowska Odzież, Tarnospin, Tarkonfex"), and several warehouses, as well as a distribution center of the Lidl supermarket chain. Tarnów is an important center of
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 ...
industry, with headquarters of three different gas corporations. Another significant company based in Tarnów is the Zakłady Mechaniczne Tarnów operating in the defence industry. It manufactures handguns, assault rifles, sniper rifles and anti-air guns. It is part of the state-controlled Bumar Corporation. Among the major shopping malls in Tarnów are the Gemini Park Tarnów and Galeria Tarnovia.


Transport

Tarnów is an important road and rail hub. It lies at the intersection of two major roads – the motorway along European route E40, and the National Road No. 73, which goes from
Kielce Kielce (; ) is a city in south-central Poland and the capital of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In 2021, it had 192,468 inhabitants. The city is in the middle of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains), on the banks of the Silnic ...
to Jasło. Furthermore, the city is a rail junction, with four lines: three main electrified routes (westward 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 ...
, eastward to Dębica and southward to
Nowy Sącz Nowy Sącz (; ; ; ; ) is a city in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship of southern Poland. It is the district capital of Nowy Sącz County as a separate administrative unit. With a population of 83,116 as of 2021, it is the largest city in the Beskid S ...
), as well as secondary-importance local connection to Szczucin. The history of rail transport in Tarnów dates back to the year 1856, when the Galician Railway of Archduke Charles Louis reached the city. The architectural complex of Tarnów Main Station, fashioned after the Lviv railway station was completed in 1906 in the Austrian Partition of Poland. Since 2010, Tarnów station houses a gallery of modern art, the only such gallery located in a rail station in Poland. Tarnów also has three additional stations: Tarnów Mościce, as well as Tarnów Północny and Tarnów Klikowa, both of which are currently out of service. The city's public transport system consists of 29 municipal bus routes, which provide convenient transportation to all districts. In 1911–1942 Tarnów had a
tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...
line, with the length of 2.5 kilometres, since replaced by buses.


Politics

Members of Parliament (
Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...
) elected from Tarnów
constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...
in 2005 included: Urszula Augustyn, PO, Edward Czesak, PiS, Aleksander Grad, PO, Barbara Marianowska, PiS, Józef Rojek, PiS, Wiesław Woda, PSL and Michał Wojtkiewicz, PiS. Member of the European Parliament elected in 2007, and Consul General at the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in New York City, was Urszula Gacek, PO, EPP-ED.


Tourism

Tarnów is an important tourist, cultural and economic center in
Lesser Poland Voivodeship Lesser Poland Voivodeship ( ) is a voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship in southern Poland. It has an area of , and a population of 3,404,863 (2019). Its capital and largest city is Kraków. The province's name recalls the traditional name of a h ...
. The old town of Tarnów, called the "pearl of the Polish Renaissance", is one of the most beautiful examples of the Renaissance architectural layout of Polish cities. In 2022, CNN included Tarnów on the list of "Europe's most beautiful towns". Tourist Information Detailed information about the city, tourist attractions, cultural events and other things are provided by Tourist Information Center, located in the southern part of Main Square. Office is well equipped with a wide variety of brochures and souvenirs, it also serves as a bike rental spot, luggage storage and small guesthouse (4 rooms/8 beds). Tourist Information Center * Rynek 7, 33–100 Tarnów V-IX.


Attractions

Points of interest around the city include: File:Tarnow Rynek 20080708 4154.jpg, Market Square with historic and colourful tenements File:Tarnow ratusz ffolas 03.jpg,
Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...
File:Katedra i Plac Katedralny w Tarnowie.jpg, Cathedral of the Nativity File:Dom Mikołajowski w Tarnowie - 2.jpg, Mikołajowski House File:Półbaszta w Tarnowie - 1.jpg, 16th century fortified tower File:Bima Starej Synagogi w Tarnowie.jpg, Existing remains of the old synagogue File:Plac Kazimierza Wielkiego z domem Tertila w Tarnowie.jpg, Casimir Square File:Holy Family Church, 41 Krakowska street, Tarnów, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland.jpg,
Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...
Church of the Holy Family File:Tarnow dworzec 5.jpg, Railway station in Tarnów File:Mauzoleum generała Józefa Bema w Tarnowie - 1.jpg, Tomb of General Józef Bem, national hero of Poland,
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
and the former
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
File:Budynek Miejskiej Kasy Oszczędnościowej w Tarnowie - 18.jpg, Historic building of the Municipal Savings Bank File:Tarnów ul. Jarzębinowa 9 willa Kwiatkowskiego A 63M 697946.jpg, Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski villa in Mościce File:Zespół urbanistyczny osiedla zakładów azotowych w Tarnowie-Mościcach - 19 pavw.JPG, Modernist housing estates in Mościce


Education

* University of Applied Sciences in Tarnów, UAS (Akademia Nauk Stosowanych w Tarnowie, ANS) * Lesser Poland Higher School of Economics (Małopolska Wyższa Szkoła Ekonomiczna) * Higher School of Business (Wyższa Szkoła biznesu) * Higher Theological Seminary in Tarnów (Wyższe Seminarium Duchowne w Tarnowie, WSD) * John Paul II High School in Tarnów (IV Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Jana Pawła II w Tarnowie)


Sports

The list features selected sport teams based in Tarnów: * Unia Tarnów
speedway Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Daytona International Speedway, a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida. *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta. *Indianapolis Motor Spe ...
team, Polish Champions in 2004, 2005 and 2012. They race at the Jaskółcze Gniazdo Municipal Stadium and are sponsored by Mościce Nitrate Factory and is also popularly known as ''Jaskółki'' (Swallows). * ZKS Unia Tarnów – Zakładowy Klub Sportowy Unia Tarnów (Workplace Sports Club United Tarnów) –
association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
team, which plays in the lower leagues. * Tarnovia Tarnów – association football team, which plays in the lower leagues, but played in Poland's top division in the past, most recently in
1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...
. * Unia Wisła Paged Tarnów – men's basketball team, which plays in the lower leagues, but played in Poland's top division in the past, most recently in 2007. * Grupa Azoty Unia Tarnów – men's handball team playing in the Polish Superliga. * Roleski Grupa Azoty PWSZ Tarnów – women's volleyball team playing in the TAURON Liga, the highest level of women's volleyball played in Poland.


Religion

Besides Catholics, other Christian denominations are also present in Tarnów including Baptist Church, Free Brothers Church, Jehovah's Witnesses, Methodist Church, Pentecostal Church, Seventh-day Adventist Church and the non-denominational Evangelical Movement "The Lord is my Banner". Before World War II there was a large population of Jews comprising half of the city's population, but now there remain just monuments of their past presence. According to 2007 Catholic Church statistics provided by the Instytut Statystyki Kościoła Katolickiego SAC, Tarnów is the most religious city in Poland, with 72.5% of the congregation of the Diocese of Tarnów attending Mass.


International relations


Twin towns – Sister cities

Tarnów is twinned with: *
Trenčín Trenčín (, also known by other #Names and etymology, alternative names) is a List of towns in Slovakia, city in western Slovakia of the central Váh River valley near the Czech Republic, Czech border, around from Bratislava. It has a populati ...
in
Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
* Kiskőrös in
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
* Schoten in
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
* Blackburn in
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
* Casalmaggiore in
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
* Veszprém in
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
*
Nowy Sącz Nowy Sącz (; ; ; ; ) is a city in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship of southern Poland. It is the district capital of Nowy Sącz County as a separate administrative unit. With a population of 83,116 as of 2021, it is the largest city in the Beskid S ...
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 ...
* Kotlas in
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
*
Bila Tserkva Bila Tserkva ( ; , ) is a city in central Ukraine. It is situated on the Ros (river), Ros River in the historical region of right-bank Ukraine. It is the largest city in Kyiv Oblast (which does not include the city of Kyiv) and serves as the ...
in
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
* Vinnytsia in
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
Former twin towns: * Ternopil in
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
In June 2021, the Tarnów city council decided to suspend its partnership with the Ukrainian town of Ternopil as a reaction to the naming of a stadium in Ternopil in honour of Roman Shukhevych, one of the leaders of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army responsible for
massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia The Massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia (; ) were carried out in Occupation of Poland (1939–1945), German-occupied Poland by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), with the support of parts of the local Ukrainians, Ukrainian popu ...
perpetrated between 1943–1945.


Notable people

* Józef Bem (1794–1850), a Polish engineer, general and Ottoman
pasha Pasha (; ; ) was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitary, dignitaries, and others. ''Pasha'' was also one of the highest titles in the 20th-century Kingdom of ...
* Stella Bloch (1897–1999), American artist, dancer and journalist * Roman Brandstaetter (1906–1987), writer * Marian Curyło (born 1955), politician and businessman * Józef Cyrankiewicz (1911–1989), communist politician, Prime Minister of the
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 ...
* Charles Denner (1926–1995), French actor * Jan Drohojowski (1901–1979), diplomat *
Jacek Dukaj Jacek Józef Dukaj (pronounced: ; born 30 July 1974) is a Polish science fiction and fantasy writer. His fiction explores such themes as alternate history, alternative physics and logic, human nature, religion, the relationship between science a ...
(born 1974), writer * Stefan Filipkiewicz (1879–1944), painter * Ignace J(ay). Gelb (1907–1985), Polish-American ancient historian, Assyriologist * Allan Gray (born ''Josef Żmigród'', 1902–1973), composer * Michał Heller (born 1936), philosopher * Marcin Hycnar (born 1983), actor * Rabbi Löb Judah ben Isaac * Natalia Kałucka (born 2001), competition climber * Bartosz Kapustka (born 1996), footballer * Naphtali Keller (1834–1865), Jewish scholar; son of Israel Mendel Keller * Leon Kellner (1859–?), Jewish scholar * Mateusz Klich (born 1990), footballer * Tadeusz Klimecki (1895–1943), Chief of Polish General Staff * Renata Knapik-Miazga (born 1988), épée fencer * José Krakover (1883–1957), Argentinian Jewish photographer * Andrzej Krasicki (1918–1995), film and theatre actor and theatre director * Krystyna Kuperberg (born 1944), mathematician * Franciszek Latinik (1864–1949), military officer * Siegfried Lipiner (1856–1911), Galician-Austrian Jewish poet * Andrew Odlyzko (born 1949), mathematician * Anny Ondra (1903–1987), Czech film actress * Stanisław Opałko (1911–1993), industrialist and politician * Joseph Öttinger (1818–1895), Galician-Jewish physician * Ksawery Masiuk (born 2004), swimmer *
Lidia Morawska Lidia Morawska (born 10 November 1952, Tarnów, Poland) is a Polish–Australian physicist and distinguished professor at the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, at the Queensland University of Technology and director of the International ...
(born 1952), physicist * Agata Mróz-Olszewska (1982–2008), volleyball player and two-time European Champion * Luke Nosek (born 1975), Polish-American entrepreneur, co-founder of PayPal * Tony Rickardsson (born 1970), motorcycle speedway rider, honorable resident since 2006 * Ignacy Schiper (1884–1943), Jewish historian and politician * Eustachy Stanisław Sanguszko (1842–1903), nobleman, conservative politician * Wilhelm Sasnal (born 1972), painter * Jan Szczepanik (1872–1926), inventor * Jan Tarnowski (1488–1561), nobleman and Hetman. * Jan of Tarnów (), nobleman * Jan of Tarnów (1367–1433), nobleman * Rafał z Tarnowa (), nobleman * Zofia Vetulani (1893–1981), civil servant, social and political activist * Rabbi Marcus Weissmann-Chajes (1830–1914), Jewish scholar * Rabbi Salo Wittmayer Baron (1895–1989), Jewish historian * Jan Wojnarski (1879–1937), painter and graphic artist * Marcin Wrona (1973–2015), film director * Franciszek Zachara (1898–1966), composer and pianist * Maciej Zembaty (1944–2011), artist and comedian


See also

* Lesser Poland *
List of cities and towns in Poland This is a list of cities and towns in Poland, consisting of four sections: the full list of all 107 cities in Poland by size, followed by a description of the principal metropolitan areas of the country, the table of the most populated cities and ...
* Akademiola (Tarnów) * Tarnów city walls


References


Note

* ''This article incorporates text from the
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust, dedicated to the documentation, study, and interpretation of the Holocaust. Opened in 1993, the museum explores the Holocaust through p ...
, and has been released under the GFDL'' a
"Tarnow".
sup>&nbs
OTRS ticket number.
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External links

*
City of Tarnów
English version of Tarnów's official webpage * {{Authority control Cities and towns in Lesser Poland Voivodeship City counties of Poland Populated riverside places in Poland Historic Jewish communities in Poland Holocaust locations in Poland