
City in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland
Photo: Wizardscoat, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Tarnów is a historic city in Małopolskie Province in southern Poland, 80 km east of Kraków. The city has a little over 100,000 inhabitants and is an important centre in the region.
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Półbaszta
Remains of the defensive walls and two fortified towers.
Remains of the old synagogue.
From the 14th century. The tower isn't open to the public. However, it has been said that you can talk to the rector about accompanying the janitor to the tower.
Kościół Trójcy Przenajświętszej
This late Gothic wooden church dates back to the 16th century. Now it is somehow hidden between railway tracks.
The Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive cost 300,000 men their lives. Many of them have never been identified and today they rest in war cemeteries, often marked with commemorative statues, in towns surrounding Tarnów.
The cemetery was founded in the 16th century. It is one of the oldest and most interesting cemeteries in southern Poland, with over four thousand tombstones. Research from 2019 has discovered over 11,000 people are buried in the necropolis. The keys to the cemetery gate can be borrowed, for a returnable deposit, at the Tarnów Information Center (Rynek 7) or at the premises of the Tarnów museum.
Muzeum Diecezjalne
An collection of religious art from the 15th century onwards, housed inside wonderful ensemble of 16th-century houses. The museum's most precious artefact is the original altar from St. Leonard's Church in Lipnica Murowana. Museum established in the year 1888.
Muzeum Okręgowe
Five buildings in the city.
Old Art Gallery. The Tarnów Town Hall is one of the most well-known sights in the city. There are additional artifacts, including local mammoth tusks, on the way to the tower; visitors will also be able to see the fully functional mechanical clockwork of the town hall clock.
In the middle of the park stands the Mausoleum of General Józef Bem, who fought for Polish and Hungarian independence in the 19th century. He was born in Tarnów in 1794 but died in Aleppo in 1850. Bem was initially buried there until his remains were moved to Tarnów in 1929, 11 years after Poland gained independence. The mausoleum is a sarcophagus, resting on 6 columns with Corinthian capitals. There are inscriptions in Polish, Hungarian and Arabic on the walls of the sarcophagus.
This small neo-gothic palace at the edge of the Strzelecki Park now houses exhibition spaces open to the public.
Brama Seklerska
A gift from the Hungarian Irott Szó Foundation and the city of Sepsiszentgyőrgy for the city of Tarnów. Unveiled on May 26, 2001, the day of its handover is associated with the 170th anniversary of the Battle of Ostrołęka - one of the battles of the November Uprising in which Józef Bem fought. It is the second gate of this type in Poland (the first one stands in Stary Sącz).
Picturesque ruin on St Martin's Hill, this 12th-century fortification towered over the city until it fell into utter disrepair and was eventually dismantled and used in the construction of Bernardine church and monastery. Parts of the stonework are said to have been fitted to various buildings surrounding the town square. What remained of the castle was largely covered during construction of a mound which was never completed.
One of several palaces that were owned by the Sanguszko family. The palace is now used as a school.
A neogothic villa in Gumniska, in the south-eastern part of Tarnów. Nearby the Sanguszko Palace.
Famous for its painted cottages. The custom of decorating village rooms with floral paintings dates back to the late 19th century, when village women began decorating cottage interiors with tissue paper flowers, cutouts, and straw spiders hanging from the ceiling, as well as painted flowers on the walls. Paintings were also applied to the exterior walls of buildings, wells, and fences. There are approximately 20 painted houses in Zalipie.
Cinema.
By bus
Buses run frequently from Kraków, with fares and travel time similar to trains.
By car
There is public transportation with around 30 bus lines, but most attractions are in the historic centre so you'll manage on foot.
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