Tarnów is a historic city on the border of the Carpathians. The first hills belonging to the Carpathian Foothills rise within it. It has a nicely preserved historic center and an interesting Ethnographic Museum.
The history of Tarnów began on St. Martin, located south of today's city. It was here that in the Middle Ages Tarnowski's castle existed, of which only ruins remain. However, the town was located on a more flat area at the beginning of the 14th century. It remained in the hands of the Tarnowski family and under their rule it experienced its greatest prosperity.
The monuments testify to the former glory of Tarnów. In the Old Town, the Gothic Tarnowska Cathedral stands out, which owes its present appearance to the 19th-century reconstruction. It houses a Renaissance tombstone of Hetman Jan Amor Tarnowski, one of the most prominent military commanders of the early 16th century, as well as a patron of art and a follower of revival ideas.
It was during the reign of Jan Tarnowski that the city experienced its greatest boom. At that time, Renaissance tenement houses were built in the market square, with arcades and facades decorated with sgraffito decorations. One of them now houses the District Museum. The Town Hall in Tarnów was also rebuilt according to renaissance patterns, adding a decorative attic.
Unfortunately, the premature death of Jan Tarnowski and his heirs as quickly as possible meant that the town passed into the hands of other families and its importance began to decline. It stood out again in the 19th century as the birthplace of General Józef Bem, the hero of the Hungarian Spring of Nations. The remains of Bem, who died abroad as a Muslim, were not buried in Tarnów only in 1926. They were buried in a specially erected sarcophagus on an artificial lake island in Strzelecki Park. To this day, numerous Hungarian tours come here to pay tribute to the hero of the struggle "for our freedom and yours".
Tarnów's attractions also include its museums. The most important of them is the Ethnographic Museum with one exhibition in Poland devoted to the Roma culture. The Mościce Art Center is a thriving cultural center organizing numerous festivals and concerts.
