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
A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, i ...
, 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
Grupa Azoty S.A. (until 2013 ''Zakłady Azotowe in Tarnów-Mościce'') is a major Poland, Polish chemical industry company headquartered in the Mościce district of Tarnów, in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship of southeastern Poland.
The company wa ...
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
Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for a proper nam ...
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
Tyrnavos () is a municipality in the Larissa regional unit, of the Thessaly region of Greece. It is the second-largest town of the Larissa regional unit, after Larissa. The town is near the mountains and the Thessalian Plain. The river Titarisios ...
(also spelled as Tirnovo), Czech
Trnov, Bulgarian
Veliko Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo (, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a city in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. It is the historical and spiritual capital of Bulgaria.
Often referred to as the "''City of the Tsars''", Velik ...
and
Malko Tarnovo
Malko Tarnovo ( , "Little Tarnovo"; as opposed to Veliko Tarnovo) is a town in Burgas Province, southeastern Bulgaria, 5 km from the Turkish border. It is the only town in the interior of the Bulgarian Strandzha Mountains and lies in Stra ...
, 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
Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...
, 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
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 Slav ...
gord was established, probably by the
Vistulans
The Vistulans, or Vistulanians (), were an early medieval Lechitic tribe inhabiting the western part of modern Lesser Poland.
Etymology
Their name derives from the hydronym of the river Vistula, meaning "inhabitants of Vistula"; the region is m ...
. 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
The Christianization of Poland ( ) refers to the introduction and subsequent spread of Christianity in Poland. The impetus to the process was the Baptism of Poland ( ), the personal baptism of Mieszko I, the first ruler of the future Polish st ...
), or Czech invasion of
Lesser Poland
Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name ''Małopolska'' (; ), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a separate cult ...
. 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
Tyniec is a historic village in Poland on the Vistula river, since 1973 a part of the city of Kraków (currently in the district of Dębniki). Tyniec is notable for its Benedictine abbey founded by King Casimir the Restorer in 1044.
Etymology
...
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
300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the Pope's legate.
A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the Pope to foreign nations, to some other part of the Catho ...
, 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
Kinga of Poland or Kinga of Hungary, also Saint Kinga (also known as Cunegunda; , , ) (5 March 1224– 24 July 1292) is a saint in the Catholic Church and patroness of Poland and Lithuania.
Biography
She was born in Esztergom, Kingdom of Hun ...
specifies a woman named Marta, who was resident of the settlement. In 1327, a knight named Spicymir (
Leliwa coat of arms
Leliwa is a Polish coat of arms. It was used by several hundred szlachta families during the existence of the Kingdom of Poland and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and remains in use today by many of the descendants of these families. The ...
) purchased a village of Tarnów Wielki, and three years later, founded his own
private town
Private towns in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth were privately owned towns within the lands owned by magnates, bishops, knights and princes, among others.
Amongst the most well-known former private magnate towns are Białystok, Zamość, R ...
. On 7 March 1330, King
Władysław I the Elbow-high Władysław is a Polish given male name, cognate with Vladislav. The feminine form is Władysława, archaic forms are Włodzisław (male) and Włodzisława (female), and Wladislaw is a variation. These names may refer to:
People Mononym
* Włodzis ...
granted
Magdeburg rights
Magdeburg rights (, , ; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law, which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within cities and villages gr ...
to Tarnów. One year later, construction of a castle on the St. Martin Hill was completed by
Castellan of Kraków,
Spycimir Leliwita Spycimir, also Spyćmier, Spyćmir, Spyćmierz, Spićymierz, etc., is an old Polish masculine given name. Etymology: ''spyci-'': "in vain", ''-mir'': "peace". Diminutives: Spytko, Spytek. Its name day is 26 April.Bogdan Kupis, ''Nasze imiona'', 1991 ...
of
Leliwa coat of arms
Leliwa is a Polish coat of arms. It was used by several hundred szlachta families during the existence of the Kingdom of Poland and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and remains in use today by many of the descendants of these families. The ...
(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
The House of Tarnowski (plural: Tarnowscy) is the name of a Poland, Polish Nobility, noble and aristocratic family (''szlachta''). Because Polish adjectives have different forms for the genders, Tarnowska is the form for a female family member. ...
emerged. In the 14th century, numerous
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
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
(lit. "Forest Germans" or – "Deaf Germans"; – "deaf Germans") was the name for a group of German-speaking people, originally used in the 16th century for two language islands around Łańcut and Krosno, in southeastern Poland. Both of th ...
,
Ostsiedlung
(, ) is the term for the Early Middle Ages, early medieval and High Middle Ages, high medieval migration of Germanic peoples and Germanisation of the areas populated by Slavs, Slavic, Balts, Baltic and Uralic languages, Uralic peoples; the ...
). During the 17th century
Scottish
Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
*Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland
*Scottish English
*Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
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
The Polish Golden Age (Polish language, Polish: ''Złoty Wiek Polski'' ) was the Renaissance in Poland, Renaissance period in the Kingdom of Poland and subsequently in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, which started in the late 15th century. H ...
, when it belonged to
Hetman
''Hetman'' is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders (comparable to a field marshal or imperial marshal in the Holy Roman Empire). First used by the Czechs in Bohemia in the 15th century, ...
Jan Tarnowski
Jan Amor Tarnowski (Latin: Joannes Tarnovius; 1488 – 16 May 1561) was a Polish nobleman, knight, military commander, military theoretician, and statesman of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland. He was Grand Crown Hetman from 1527, and wa ...
(1488–1561). In the mid-16th century, its population was app. 1,200, with 200 houses located within town's
defensive wall
A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as curtain walls with t ...
(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
The Polish Golden Age (Polish language, Polish: ''Złoty Wiek Polski'' ) was the Renaissance in Poland, Renaissance period in the Kingdom of Poland and subsequently in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, which started in the late 15th century. H ...
, 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
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
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
The House of Tarnowski (plural: Tarnowscy) is the name of a Poland, Polish Nobility, noble and aristocratic family (''szlachta''). Because Polish adjectives have different forms for the genders, Tarnowska is the form for a female family member. ...
– from Spicymir Leliwita to
Jan Krzysztof Tarnowski
Count Jan Krzysztof Tarnowski (1 January 1537 – 1 April 1567) was a Polish nobleman (szlachcic), Leliwa coat of arms. Son of Hetman Jan Tarnowski and Zofia née Szydłowiecka. He was married to Zofia Odrowąż since 1555, but had no issue. ...
, who died in 1567. In 1570 Tarnów became property of the
Ostrogski family
The House of Ostrogski (; ; ) was one of the more prominent families in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The family spanned from the 14th century Ruthenian noble Daniil Ostrogski ...
, after
Zofia Tarnowska
Countess Zofia Tarnowska (1534–1570) was a Polish–Lithuanian noblewoman and heiress.
She was the daughter of Hetman Jan Amor Tarnowski h. Leliwa and Zofia Szydłowiecka h. Odrowąż.
Marriage and issue
Zofia married Prince Konstanty W ...
, the daughter of the hetman, married prince
Konstanty Wasyl Ostrogski
Konstanty Wasyl Ostrogski (; ; ; 2 February 1526 – 13 or 23 February 1608) was a Ruthenian Orthodox magnate of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, a prince, starost of Volodymyr, marshal of Volhynia and voivode of the Kiev Voivodeship. O ...
. 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
Pilzno is a town in Poland, in Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in Dębica County. It had 4,943 inhabitants as of 2018.
Notable residents
* Karol Irzykowski (1873–1944), writer and literary critic
* Sebastian Petrycy (1554–1626), a Polish ph ...
,
Sandomierz Voivodeship
Sandomierz Voivodeship (, ) was a unit of administration and local government in Poland from the 14th century to the partitions of Poland in 1772–1795. It was part of the Lesser Poland region and the Lesser Poland Province. Originally Sandomier ...
. The town, like almost all locations of Lesser Poland, was devastated in October 1655, during the
Swedish invasion of Poland
The Deluge was a series of mid-17th-century military campaigns in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In a wider sense, it applies to the period between the Khmelnytsky Uprising of 1648 and the Truce of Andrusovo in 1667, comprising the Pol ...
, and as a result, its population declined from 2,000 to 768. In 1723, the town became the property of the
Sanguszko family
The House of Sanguszko is a Polish and Lithuanian noble and aristocratic family of Lithuanian and Ruthenian origin, connected to the Gediminid dynasty. Like other princely houses of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, its origins are considered m ...
, which purchased it from the
Lubomirski family
The House of Lubomirski is a Polish princely family. The Lubomirski family's coat of arms is the Drużyna coat of arms, which is similar to the Szreniawa coat of arms but without a cross.
Origin and the coat of arms
The Lubomirski f ...
.
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
The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...
, 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
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of Roman civilization
* Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter ...
(1783). On 14 March 1794,
Józef Bem
Józef Zachariasz Bem (, ; 14 March 1794 – 10 December 1850) was a Polish engineer and general, an Ottoman pasha and a national hero of Poland and Hungary, and a figure intertwined with other European patriotic movements. Like Tadeusz Kościus ...
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 Galician Peasant Uprising of 1846, also known as the Galician Rabacja, Galician Slaughter, or the Szela uprising (; or ''Rabacja galicyjska''), was a two-month uprising of impoverished Austrian Galician peasants that led to the suppressio ...
. The massacre, led by
Jakub Szela
Jakub Szela (was born 14 July 1787, Smarżowa, in Galicia - died 21 April 1860, Dealul Ederii, in Bukovina, now Romania) was a Polish leader of a peasant uprising against the Polish gentry in Galicia in 1846; directed against manorial property ...
(born in
Smarżowa
Smarżowa is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Brzostek, within Dębica County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland. It lies approximately north-east of Brzostek, south of Dębica, and west of the regional cap ...
), began on 18 February 1846. Szela's peasant units surrounded and attacked manor houses and settlements located in three counties –
Sanok
Sanok (in full the Royal Free City of Sanok — , , ''Sanok'', , ''Sianok'' or ''Sianik'', , , ''Sūnik'' or ''Sonik'') is a town in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship of southeastern Poland with 38,397 inhabitants, as of June 2016. Located on the San ...
,
Jasło
Jasło is a county town in south-eastern Poland with 36,641 inhabitants, as of 31 December 2012. It is situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (since 1999), and it was previously part of Krosno Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is located in Lesser ...
, 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
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 ...
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
Wincenty Witos (; 21 or 22 January 1874 – 31 October 1945) was a Polish statesman, prominent member and leader of the Polish People's Party (PSL), who served three times as the Prime Minister of Poland in the 1920s.
He was a member of the Pol ...
. 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
German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at ...
, 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
Kraków District (, ) was one of the original four administrative districts set up by Nazi Germany after the German occupation of Poland during the years of 1939–1945. Dean, Martin. “KRAKÓW REGION (DISTRIKT KRAKAU).” The United States Holo ...
on 26 October 1939.
In September 1939, the ''
Einsatzgruppe I
(, ; also 'task forces') were (SS) paramilitary death squads of Nazi Germany that were responsible for mass murder, primarily by shooting, during World War II (1939–1945) in German-occupied Europe. The had an integral role in the impl ...
'' 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
A freight train, also called a goods train or cargo train, is a railway train that is used to carry cargo, as opposed to passengers. Freight trains are made up of one or more locomotives which provide propulsion, along with one or more railroad ...
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
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
Tarnów was an important center of 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 ...
(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
Ludwik Solski (20 January 1855 - 19 December 1954), born Ludwik Napoleon Karol Sosnowski,
was a Polish stage actor and theatre director. From his stage debut in 1876 until his death (his last performance took place six months after his 99th birth ...
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
Ḥasīd (, "pious", "saintly", "godly man"; plural "Hasidim") is a Jewish honorific, frequently used as a term of exceptional respect in the Talmudic and early medieval periods. It denotes a person who is scrupulous in his observance of Jewish ...
, secular Zionists
Zionism is an ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the Jewish people, pursued through the colonization of Palestine, a region roughly cor ...
, and many more.[Jewish Community in Tarnów](_blank)
on Virtual Shtetl
The Virtual Shtetl () is a bilingual Polish-English portal of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, devoted to the Jewish history of Poland.
History
The Virtual Shtetl website was officially launched on June 16, 2009 by founder A ...
, the Museum of the History of Polish Jews
POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews () is a museum on the site of the former Warsaw Ghetto. The Hebrew language, Hebrew word ''Polin'' in the museum's English name means either "Poland" or "rest here" and relates to a legend about the ar ...
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
A ''Judenrat'' (, ) was an administrative body, established in any zone of German-occupied Europe during World War II, purporting to represent its Jewish community in dealings with the Nazi authorities. The Germans required Jews to form ''J ...
) 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
Belzec (English: or , Polish: , approximately ) was a Nazi German extermination camp in occupied Poland. It was built by the SS for the purpose of implementing the secretive Operation Reinhard, the plan to murder all Polish Jews, a major p ...
. 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
Zbylitowska Góra is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Tarnów, within Tarnów County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately south-west of Tarnów and east of the regional capital Kraków. It is th ...
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
A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploit ...
, 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 camp
Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe, primarily in occupied Poland, during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocau ...
s 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
The Jewish Resistance Movement (, ''Tnu'at HaMeri Ha'Ivri'', literally ''Hebrew Rebellion Movement''), also called the United Resistance Movement (URM), was an alliance of the Zionist paramilitary organizations Haganah, Irgun and Lehi in the B ...
. Many of the resistance leaders were young Zionists involved in the Hashomer Hatzair
Hashomer Hatzair (, , 'The Young Guard') is a Labor Zionism, Labor Zionist, secular Jewish youth movement founded in 1913 in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Austria-Hungary. It was also the name of the Hashomer Hatzair Workers Party, the ...
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
Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its collaborators before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universall ...
. 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
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
Zbigniew Ziobro
Zbigniew Tadeusz Ziobro (; born 18 August 1970) is a Polish politician. He served as the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Poland in the Cabinet of Mateusz Morawiecki until 27 November 2023. He previously served in the same role from Octo ...
.
Geography
Tarnów lies at the Carpathian
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at ...
foothills, on the Dunajec
The Dunajec (; Goral dialects: ''Dónajec''; ) is a river running through northeastern Slovakia and southern Poland. It is also regarded as the main river of the Goral Lands. It is a right tributary of the Vistula River. It begins in Nowy Targ at ...
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
Ignacy Mościcki (; 1 December 1867 – 2 October 1946) was a Polish chemist and politician who was the country's president from 1926 to 1939. He was the longest serving president in Polish history. Mościcki was the President of Poland when Ge ...
.
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
Industry may refer to:
Economics
* Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity
* Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery
* The wider industrial sector ...
. 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
Grupa Azoty S.A. (until 2013 ''Zakłady Azotowe in Tarnów-Mościce'') is a major Poland, Polish chemical industry company headquartered in the Mościce district of Tarnów, in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship of southeastern Poland.
The company wa ...
, 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
Lidl ( ) is a trademark, used by two Germany, German international discount supermarket, discount retailer chain store, chains that operates over 12,600 stores. The ''LD Stiftung'' operates the stores in Germany and the ''Lidl Stiftung & Co. K ...
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
Zakłady Mechaniczne Tarnów (; ) is a Polish defense manufacturing company. Based in the city of Tarnów, the company produces handguns, assault rifles, sniper rifles and anti-air guns. It is part of the Bumar-Labedy corporation, itself a divis ...
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
European route E40 is the longest European route, more than long, connecting Calais in France via Belgium, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan, with Ridder in Kazakhstan near the border with ...
, 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
Jasło is a county town in south-eastern Poland with 36,641 inhabitants, as of 31 December 2012. It is situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (since 1999), and it was previously part of Krosno Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is located in Lesser ...
. 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
Dębica (; ''Dembitz'') is a town in southeastern Poland with 44,692 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the capital of Dębica County. Since 1999 it has been situated in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship; it had previously been in the Tarnów Voiv ...
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
Szczucin is a town in Dąbrowa County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Szczucin. It lies approximately north-east of Dąbrowa Tarnowska, north of Tarnów and eas ...
. 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
Lviv-Holovnyi railway station () is the main railway terminal in Lviv, Ukraine. It is one of the most notable pieces of Art Nouveau architecture in former Galicia (Central Europe), Galicia. The station was opened to the public in 1904, and cel ...
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
Urszula Danuta Augustyn (born 1 September 1964 in Tarnów) is a Polish politician. A member of the Polish parliament of the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th term. Since 2019, deputy-chairman of Commission for Petitions and a member of Commission for ...
, PO, Edward Czesak, PiS, Aleksander Grad, PO, Barbara Marianowska, PiS, Józef Rojek, PiS, Wiesław Woda
Wiesław Woda (17 August 1946 – 10 April 2010) was a Polish politician.
Woda was born in Paleśnica. He was elected to the Sejm on 25 September 2005, getting 8,818 votes in 15 Tarnów district as a candidate for Polish People's Party.
He was ...
, PSL
PSL may refer to:
Sport
*Pakistan Super League, a Twenty20 cricket league
*Palau Soccer League, top division association football league in Palau
*Pilipinas Super League, a professional basketball league
*Philippine Super Liga, a defunct profes ...
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
Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
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
A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, i ...
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
A fortified tower (also defensive tower or castle tower or, in context, just tower) is one of the defensive structures used in fortifications, such as castles, along with defensive walls such as curtain walls. Castle towers can have a variety of ...
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
Józef Zachariasz Bem (, ; 14 March 1794 – 10 December 1850) was a Polish engineer and general, an Ottoman pasha and a national hero of Poland and Hungary, and a figure intertwined with other European patriotic movements. Like Tadeusz Kościus ...
, 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
Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski (30 December 1888, Kraków – 22 August 1974, Kraków) was a Polish politician and economist, Deputy Prime Minister of Poland, government minister and manager of the Second Polish Republic.
Biography
He studied at the pr ...
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
The Polish Superliga, officially known as the Orlen Superliga due to its sponsorship by Orlen, is the top men's handball league in Poland. It is currently a 14 teams league, played from September to May.
The competition was founded in 1956 under ...
.
* 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
Kiskőrös (, ''Kishkerish'', , ) is a town in Bács-Kiskun, Hungary. Kiskőrös is situated between the Danube and Tisza rivers at around . Sándor Petőfi, the national poet of Hungary, was born here.
Geography
Kiskőrös is the sixth bigge ...
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
Schoten () is a Municipalities in Belgium, municipality located in Antwerp Province, Belgium. The municipality only comprises the town of Schoten proper. As of 1 January 2020 Schoten has a total population of 34,311. The total area is which gi ...
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
Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the River Ribble, Ribble Valley, east of Preston ...
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
Casalmaggiore ( Casalasco-Viadanese: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Cremona, Lombardy, Italy, located on the Po River. It was the birthplace of Italian composers Ignazio Donati and Andrea Zani.
Recently, its women's volleyball team Volleyb ...
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
Veszprém (; , , , ) is one of the oldest urban areas in Hungary, and a city with county rights. It lies approximately north of the Lake Balaton. It is the administrative center of the county of the same name.
Etymology
The city's name derives ...
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
Kotlas () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Northern Dvina and Vychegda Rivers. Population:
Kotlas is the third-largest town of Arkhangelsk Oblast in terms of p ...
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
Vinnytsia ( ; , ) is a city in west-central Ukraine, located on the banks of the Southern Bug. It serves as the administrative centre, administrative center of Vinnytsia Oblast. It is the largest city in the historic region of Podillia. It also s ...
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
Ternopil, known until 1944 mostly as Tarnopol, is a city in western Ukraine, located on the banks of the Seret River. Ternopil is one of the major cities of Western Ukraine and the historical regions of Galicia and Podolia. The populatio ...
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
Ternopil, known until 1944 mostly as Tarnopol, is a city in western Ukraine, located on the banks of the Seret River. Ternopil is one of the major cities of Western Ukraine and the historical regions of Galicia and Podolia. The populatio ...
as a reaction to the naming of a stadium in Ternopil in honour of Roman Shukhevych
Roman-Taras Osypovych Shukhevych (, also known by his pseudonym, Tur and Taras Chuprynka; 30 June 1907 – 5 March 1950) was a Ukrainian nationalism, Ukrainian nationalist and a military leader of the nationalist Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) ...
, one of the leaders of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army
The Ukrainian Insurgent Army (, abbreviated UPA) was a Ukrainian nationalist partisan formation founded by the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) on 14 October 1942. The UPA launched guerrilla warfare against Nazi Germany, the S ...
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
Józef Zachariasz Bem (, ; 14 March 1794 – 10 December 1850) was a Polish engineer and general, an Ottoman pasha and a national hero of Poland and Hungary, and a figure intertwined with other European patriotic movements. Like Tadeusz Kościus ...
(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
Józef Adam Zygmunt Cyrankiewicz (; 23 April 1911 – 20 January 1989) was a Polish Socialist (PPS) and after 1948 Communist politician. He served as premier of the Polish People's Republic between 1947 and 1952, and again for 16 years between 1 ...
(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
Charles Denner (29 May 1926 – 10 September 1995) was a French actor born to a Jewish family in Tarnów, Poland. During his 30-year career he worked with some of France's greatest film director, directors of the time, including Louis Malle, ...
(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
Mateusz Andrzej Klich (; born 13 June 1990) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Major League Soccer club Atlanta United.
Club career Cracovia
Born in Tarnów, Klich debuted in the Ekstraklasa in November 2008. Dur ...
(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
Siegfried Salomo Lipiner (24 October 1856 – 30 December 1911) was a writer and poet from Austria-Hungaryhttps://mahlerfoundation.org/mahler/contemporaries/siegfried-lipiner/ whose works made an impression on Richard Wagner and Friedrich Niet ...
(1856–1911), Galician-Austrian Jewish poet
* Andrew Odlyzko
Andrew Michael Odlyzko (Andrzej Odłyżko) (born 23 July 1949) is a Polish- American mathematician and a former head of the University of Minnesota's Digital Technology Center and of the Minnesota Supercomputing Institute. He began his career i ...
(born 1949), mathematician
* Anny Ondra
Anny Ondra (born Anna Sophie Ondráková; 15 May 1903 – 28 February 1987) was an Austrian (German) and Czech film actress. She began her career in 1920 and appeared in Czech, German, Austrian, French and English films. In 1933, she married ...
(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
Łukasz Nosek (; born June 1, 1975) is a Polish-American- French entrepreneur, notable for being a co-founder of PayPal.
Biography
Łukasz Nosek was born in Tarnów, Poland. After emigrating to the US, he earned a B.S. in Computer Engineering ...
(born 1975), Polish-American entrepreneur, co-founder of PayPal
PayPal Holdings, Inc. is an American multinational financial technology company operating an online payments system in the majority of countries that support E-commerce payment system, online money transfers; it serves as an electronic alter ...
* Tony Rickardsson
Jan Tony Sören Rickardsson (born on 17 August 1970) is a Swedish former professional motorcycle speedway rider. He competed in the Speedway World Championships from 1989 to 2006 and won six Speedway World Championship titles in 15 attempts. ...
(born 1970), motorcycle speedway rider, honorable resident since 2006
* Ignacy Schiper (1884–1943), Jewish historian and politician
* Eustachy Stanisław Sanguszko
Prince Eustachy Stanisław Sanguszko (28 August 1842 – 2 April 1903) was a Polish noble (szlachcic) and conservative politician.
Eustachy educated in Poland and Paris in 1859–1860. He studied law at the Jagiellonian University from 1862 ...
(1842–1903), nobleman, conservative politician
* Wilhelm Sasnal
Wilhelm Sasnal (born December 29, 1972) is a Polish painter, photographer, poster artist, illustrator and filmmaker. Sasnal graduated in painting from the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków in 1999. He is considered one of the most prominent and i ...
(born 1972), painter
* Jan Szczepanik
Jan Szczepanik (June 13, 1872 – April 18, 1926) was a Polish inventor, with several hundred patents and over 50 discoveries to his name, many of which are still applied today, especially in the motion picture industry, as well as in photography ...
(1872–1926), inventor
* Jan Tarnowski
Jan Amor Tarnowski (Latin: Joannes Tarnovius; 1488 – 16 May 1561) was a Polish nobleman, knight, military commander, military theoretician, and statesman of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland. He was Grand Crown Hetman from 1527, and wa ...
(1488–1561), nobleman and Hetman
''Hetman'' is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders (comparable to a field marshal or imperial marshal in the Holy Roman Empire). First used by the Czechs in Bohemia in the 15th century, ...
.
* Jan of Tarnów (), nobleman
* Jan of Tarnów (1367–1433), nobleman
* Rafał z Tarnowa
Rafał () is a Polish masculine given name. It is the Polish form of the name Raphael.
Notable people with the name A-J
* Rafał Adamczyk (born 1974), Polish politician
* Rafał Ambrozik (born 1979), Polish politician
* Rafał Andraszak (bor ...
(), nobleman
* Zofia Vetulani (1893–1981), civil servant, social and political activist
* Rabbi Marcus Weissmann-Chajes (1830–1914), Jewish scholar
* Rabbi Salo Wittmayer Baron
Salo Wittmayer Baron (May 26, 1895 – November 25, 1989) was an Austrian-born American historian, described as "the greatest Jewish historian of the 20th century". Baron taught at Columbia University from 1930 until his retirement in 1963.
Lif ...
(1895–1989), Jewish historian
* Jan Wojnarski (1879–1937), painter and graphic artist
* Marcin Wrona
Marcin Wrona (25 March 1973 – 19 September 2015) was a Polish film director. His film ''Demon (2015 film), Demon'' was shown at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. He debuted at the TIFF in 2010 Toronto International Film Festival ...
(1973–2015), film director
* Franciszek Zachara (1898–1966), composer and pianist
* Maciej Zembaty
Maciej Zembaty (16 May 194427 June 2011) was a Polish artist, writer, journalist, singer, poet and comedian. Despite being considered one of the classics of Polish black humour, he is perhaps best known as a translator and populariser of songs an ...
(1944–2011), artist and comedian
See also
*Lesser Poland
Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name ''Małopolska'' (; ), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a separate cult ...
*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
The GNU Free Documentation License (GNU FDL or GFDL) is a copyleft license for free documentation, designed by the Free Software Foundation (FSF) for the GNU Project. It is similar to the GNU General Public License, giving readers the rights ...
'' a
"Tarnow".
sup>&nbs
OTRS ticket number.
/sup>
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