tourpoland

25.05.2015 I want to invite you for a walk around the city, which is called the Polish pole of warmth for a reason, the city which, shrouded in a mysterious mist, reveals its face to those who delve into its history, a city that, like many of us, has two faces. I invite you for a walk in Tarnów. Let's start from the central part, from the market square, which proudly represents the whole city. He is called the Pearl of the Renaissance. Indeed, Tarnów was one of the Polish cities that made the biggest impression in this era. The old town itself is well preserved, as are the many streets surrounding it. And although today one day you can meet a group of teenagers riding skateboards, the next day crowds of people at a concert of known or less known bands, other times mothers and fathers with young children and invariably gentlemen in suits sipping beer and talking about business in restaurants surrounding the square, most tourists say that it is enough to activate the imagination to move several hundred years into the past. If you have the opportunity, try to stand among these tenement houses and close your eyes. I wonder what images your mind will give you. The place is most impressive in the evening, when the lanterns shed light on the paved streets and the restaurants tempt with their offers invite you to the rooms where once there were merchant cellars. All this probably delights, but just go a few steps further into one of the small streets to clearly see poverty and pathology there. There are women and men of all ages here, they drink cheap alcohol, throw a colorful range of curses, gates, tenement houses, sidewalks, and even the entire width of the street, children run around screaming mercilessly. Many of these people lost their jobs when the nitrogen plants were privatized. This affected the condition of the city no less than the loss of the status of a provincial city. However, the same streets also have their charm. They are interested in the architecture of tenement houses that tell us about past years. For centuries, the city hosted many foreigners, including Jews, Germans, Ukrainians, Scots, Czechs and Austrians. Many of them got involved with the city and stayed in it introducing elements of their culture. The oldest part of the district once inhabited by Jews consists of Żydowska and Wekslarska streets. Tenement houses from the 17th and 18th centuries have been preserved here, they present the most characteristic compact building character for Jews. Pretty narrow buildings, with equally narrow passages between them and with small courtyards. . In the door frame, you can find traces of the mezuzah, i.e. a scroll of parchment containing fragments of the Torah. In some houses, iron shutters of old Jewish shops have been preserved. On street Jewish, there is a gate leading to the place where the synagogue stood until World War II. The only preserved fragment of the Tarnów synagogue destroyed by the Germans, which is the oldest of the 17th century, is Bima, the elevation from which the Torah is read. Today, Bima is the main place visited by Jews, but it is also a corner for couples in love, who can be found here a lot. Just look around and ... I've already counted three pairs. This place is as if hidden behind Jewish tenements on one side and a huge wall on the other. I leave Birme passing through a large gate. I'm on Goldhammer Street. She was so named to commemorate the merits of dr Eliasz Goldhammer, deputy mayor of Tarnów. The decision of the City Council to call the street the name of a person of Jewish origin was a precedent in Poland in the early 20th century. The building number 1 housed the last prayer house, open until 1993. At No. 3 there was the Herman Soldinger Hotel. In the Credit Society Building, whose president was Herman Merz, today marked No. 5, in the hall there are two commemorative plaques, one of which is dedicated to Merz and the other to Elijah Goldhammer. On the facade of the tenement house located on the opposite side of the street, at No. 6, there are inscriptions in Yiddish and Polish, advertising restaurant dishes. If we went back a few decades we could get on the tram and reach Krakowska Street, which is another place with an amazing atmosphere. Today, however, only a commemorative stop on Wałowa Street remains on the trams. Tarnów was the only provincial city in Galicia, where in 1911 an electric tram began running. They were red with the blue and gold coat of arms of the city. They were called "ladybugs". Trams ran for 31 years, currently there are no tracks on the tracks and most of the streets that were their route are covered with paving stones. This is also part of Krakowska Street, one of the most recognizable in the city. It is very long and will lead us almost from the market to the outlet to Krakow. The cobbled part of the street has a plethora of shops, ice cream parlors, restaurants and confectioneries, some of which have quite a long tradition. There are always crowds of people rushing on the run or catching their breath after a day's work. The part covered with asphalt will reach, for example, the station or a modern shopping center. Let's return to the market, I will tell you a curiosity. Going down the great stairs we will definitely come across a few gypsies offering divination. The Roma are also one of the inseparable cultural elements of the city. The Ethnographic Museum has the only permanent exhibition on the history and culture of the Roma in Europe. This is due to the fact that a man perceived as a spokesman for Polish Roma - Adam Andrasz lives here. Opinions about gypsies are quite stereotypical, like almost anywhere in the country. "A dozen or so years ago they lived in the market, I remember how parents always threatened us not to go there because the gypsies would do something to us. Indeed, there were many thefts and beatings then. Then they were relocated to a district on the outskirts of the city, and they have calmed down ever since. It's better. ”Rafał, the 30-year-old gym owner, thinks so. Passing the gypsies we will descend almost in front of the Burk. In none of the cities I have known I have encountered the phenomenon of naming shopping squares, they have always been bazaars, marketplace, marketplace, etc. Here it is a bit different. When I was looking for Bema Street a few days ago, someone said it was after Burk, I was sure I heard it wrong. However, it turned out that this is the name of the market square. I asked many residents, but no one was able to explain to me where the name came from. Today I decided to get information at the source, i.e. from traders. The oldest ones have been here for many years, almost everyone knows each other, they speak their names and they do not feel rivalry. If at any stand there is not what you need with a smile on their face they will send you to someone who will definitely have it. And you can buy a lot of things here. Vegetables, fruit, rural products, books, clothes, cosmetics are only a part of the large assortment, although Burek is not huge at all. When I ask about the genesis of this name, the first lady from the vegetable stall grabs my hand and runs with me around the square looking for the oldest who will know. Young people just cast "please check the internet", older people get involved immediately. A gentleman selling trinkets from the old days comes running with two photos, one from the occupation period, the other a little older. One has the signature "Market Square", the other "Burek". Despite several versions circulating among the stories of older Tarnów inhabitants, most agree that the most likely is the one that says that the name comes from the cobblestones, which is lined the entire square, previously there were cat heads, this probably changed during the war, after bomb blast. When telling you about the city, I can't skip Mount Saint. Martin. The hill got its name from the first parish church in these areas, its history has not yet been determined, but it is known that it was a Benedictine church dedicated to St. Martin, probably arose at the end of the eleventh or early twelfth century. The view from the top is amazing, you can see the whole of Tarnów and the surrounding area. But above all, there is something special here. These are the ruins of the Tarnowski Castle, which was the seat of the Grand Crown Hetman Jan Tarnowski. Unfortunately, the uniqueness of this place manifests itself almost only in historical matter because the ruins themselves are very poorly preserved. The process of destroying the castle has progressed for centuries. Already in 1651, Commissioner Jerzy Somel arrived at the Tarnowski Castle, commissioned by one of the co-owners, who described the estate as follows: ... in the very building or walls there is a great ruin and almost nothing is there; half-decayed rooms that were under the shingles, and half-way under the roof are any appearance of having, and only the decorative entrances of the building, and on the door, and marble and alabaster laid, it is still time to know, but it is all further and a larger ruin of 'miniatures', if this roof is not quickly covered by this expensive structure. The walls are still there and powerful... In November 1938, Fr. Roman Sanguszko handed over the castle to the city authorities of Tarnów together with the surrounding area in order to establish a city park there named for them. Independence. A series of archaeological research began on the castle hill. The remains of the castle were exposed as a permanent ruin. However, each year under the influence of weather conditions and as a result of vandals, the ruins remain even less. Although the "Tarnów Castle" Association was established in 2007, aiming at revitalizing the currently deteriorating castle ruins, the ruins are still waiting for investors and development. Tarnów has accumulated amazing stories for centuries. In the chronicles and newspapers we can find articles about strange phenomena and unusual events. Some of them have been forgotten, while others have evolved into their own legends told in the evenings, in pubs and inns. So I decided to go there hoping to hear something interesting. I go to one of the popular pubs among students. Seemingly nothing is happening here, there is a bar, literally a few seats, a dart machine. However, the heart of the place is hidden below. I order coffee and go to the basement. There is an amazing atmosphere here. Large photos of musical legends such as Kurt Cobain hang on the raw walls, and alternative music seeps from the speakers. You get the impression that everyone knows each other. I approach the table where several boys are sitting. - Are you from here? - I ask. - Sure - they answer unanimously. - I'm passing through here, but I liked it and want to gather some information. You may know some local legends. - Sit with us - he suggests tall, slim blond with long, tied hair. He is wearing a black T-shirt with the logo of one of the bands, a leather jacket, jeans and boots. Most people in the pub are dressed in a similar style. - I'm Kamil, and this is the rest of the boys - he says with a smile. - We are happy to tell you some interesting stories. - My name is Natalia and I change into hearing - I answer. - Maybe tell about those creatures that ate people - suggests brunet, also long-haired. - This story probably knows everyone here. Today it is treated like the rest of this type of story, put between cartoons. But I suppose our grandmothers are firmly convinced of its veracity, though they don't admit it anymore. - begins Kamil - It is said that before the first people appeared here, this land was inhabited by some ancient beings. Some race that once ruled the world. Who were they What did they look like Nobody knows that. Because with the expansion of people, they moved to secret caves inside the castle mountain. They fed on what mother nature offered, and later on what people did, simply by stealing crops in the world. But when times were bad, and there was famine and war in the area, these creatures left their hiding places to satisfy their hunger with human flesh. Apparently, the number of disappearances increased drastically then. After this terrible story, we all start laughing. Later, the conversation goes on to other topics. We talk about the realities of life in Tarnów, about schools, about the level of entertainment available and necessarily about speedway riders who are idolized here. When I leave it is already dark so it stops in the middle of the market, I close my eyes and try to move a few centuries back. It is amazing.