Tarnowskie Góry

Etymology

The name of Tarnowskie Góry is derived from "Tarnowice", name of a local village and word "Góry" which in old-Polish meant "mines". In a Prussian document from 1750 (published in Polish language in Berlin by Frederick the Great (1712–1786)), the town is mentioned, among other Silesian towns, as "Tarnowskie Góry". The German name "Tarnowitz" was introduced in the late 18th century, after the Third Silesian War (between Austria and Prussia). As a result of Germanization of the area, all Polish or Slavic names received their Germaninc name-equivalents (usually closely resembling the original, like Katowice and Katowitz).

Early

The earliest settlements around Tarnowskie Góry date back to over 20 thousand years BC. Traces of the Upper Paleolithic inhabitants were found in village of Rybna, within present-day town borders. During the bronze age people lived along the banks of river Stoła pl:Stoła(Polish) or Stola, (name derived from German Stollenwasser Adit water earlier this river was known as "Rybna" (derived from a Polish word for "fish"), their tools, jewelry and weapons were excavated here, dating from between the 8th and 5th centuries BC. Silver, lead and zinc were bountiful in these grounds and the evidence of an early metal production dates back to at least 3rd century AD.

Medieval and Renaissance

Repty Śląskie pl:Repty Śląskie(Polish), a village (now within Tarnowskie Góry's city limits,) was mentioned in an official papal document dating from September 12, 1201. According to legend, the source of silver ore (solely responsible for the town's existence,) was first discovered in 1490, when local peasant-farmer named Rybka found a strange, heavy, metallic stone while plowing the field near village of Tarnowice. He presented his find to a local priest and within less than three decades this place became the largest silver mining center in the area. Its population rivaled in size some of the major cities of the Renaissance world and prospectors were coming from all corners of the continent, some as far as Spain, all of this fueled by the massive amount and quality of ore, so high that on many occasions it was said to be practically pure, metallic silver.

Initial growth can be attributed to Jan II Dobry, (John II The Good, Duke of Opole and Racibórz, the last of the first Polish dynasty of Piast) and George, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (from the House of Hohenzollern), both of whom, in 1526, gave the town special privileges called "Akt Wolności Górniczej" (The Miners’ Freedom Act.) This revolutionary document awarded freedom to any peasant who chose to become a miner in the area; the same year new settlement was officially elevated to the town-status, christened Tarnowskie Góry and received additional set of town privileges and rights, cote of arms and official seal followed few decades later in 1562.

In 1528, "Ordunek Górny" (the Mining Ordinance) strongly promoting farther exploration and offering very high percentage of profits to miners, was proclaimed and sparked a period of an explosive growth and prosperity. Many other associated businesses like trade, manufacturing, crafts etc., were rapidly developing and most of the old-town was already in place by 1540, including many of still existing brick and stone buildings and Protestant church. By the mid-16th century Tarnowskie Góry became the largest mining center in Upper Silesia and one of the largest in Europe; the combined length of main tunnels (main tunnels were the passages with clearance of over 2 metres (6 feet 7 inches) in height) constructed under the 1sq mile of old town alone, exceed 160 km (99 mi), still, representing only a very small fraction of a total underground system.

Many Protestants found refuge in Tarnowskie Góry, and after the death of John II the Good (1532) town was ruled by the family of Hohenzollern supporters of reformation movement. The first Protestant, wooden church was built in 1529 and two years later a stone structure was erected to replace it. In 1531, Szkola Różnowiercza (The Reformation School) was created and at the end of the 16th century was run by Daniel Franconius, famous scholar, educator, poet, and a propagator of Arianism.

Enlightenment

The prosperity of Tarnowskie Góry was abruptly halted by the Thirty Year War (1618–1648), and in 1676-77 its population was farther decimated by an outbreak of plague (which two years later reached the Austrian capital). In 1683, Polish King John III Sobieski rested in town on his way to the Battle of Vienna (where he led the famous Hussars branch of Polish cavalry to victory in defeating the Ottoman army and stopping the progress of their European invasion). December 16, 1740, was marked by the Prussian army entering the town during the first of the Silesian Wars; in 1742, Austrian domination ended and Tarnowskie Góry fell under Prussian rule. Around 1780 Friedrich Wilhelm von Reden opened a government-controlled mine as well as silver and lead foundry named "Frederyk" after Frederick William II, the king of Prussia.

Jews, with a very few exceptions, were restricted or altogether banned from the area throughout the years; yet still they managed to have a great impact on the entire region's progress. Salomon Isaac, Jewish trade-agent and mining entrepreneur, was one of the greatest contributors to the development of the Sillesian metallurgical and mining industries and, ultimately, become one of the managing officers of the newly formed Prussian Office of Mining in Tarnowskie Góry.

Industrial Revolution

In 1788, sparking the onset of the Industrial Revolution the first steam engine in continental Europe (and only the second one in the world) was imported from England and installed with a purpose of draining the underground waters. This was not a small task, miles of a deep adit or drainage-tunnel. A 600-metre part of former Fryderyk adit is a tourist route named Black Trout Adit. Its tunnels were cut through a solid bedrock and one of the system outlets, near Repty, became the main contributory of river Drama.

Although Napoleonic Wars damaged and put a burden of heavy taxation on it, the town experienced another boom of growth and prosperity in the 19th century. In 1803 one of world's first schools of mining was initiated and, during following few decades, many new factories and businesses opened including: paper mill, iron foundry, printing shop, brewery, soap factory and natural gas production plant. During that period, the town square and two main streets were paved, gas lighting illuminated the town and a sewage system was installed. "Górnośląska Spółka Bracka" (The Upper-Silesian Brotherhood Cooperative) was organized with its headquarters in Tarnowskie Góry; (this revolutionary institution functioned as an insurance company for miners and covered the entire Upper Silesian region with 17,821 initial members). In 1857 the first railroad, leading to Opole, reached the town and eight years later Warsaw-Vienna line History of rail transport in Poland#Warsaw–Vienna line cut-through as well. Throughout the next few decades, because of its strategic location, the number of railroad lines grew rapidly, and by the end of the 19th century Tarnowskie Góry was well on its way to becoming the second largest marshaling yard in Europe. In 1873 a new county was formed in the area with Tarnowskie Góry as its capital; a hospital and court building were opened soon after.

Modern

In the beginning of the 20th century, the source of the silver ore dried out and the mining stopped completely. After World War I ended, between 1919 and 1921 three massive anti-German uprisings took place in entire Upper Silesian region and many of towns residents fought and supported the cause. Soon after the end of the third one, mandated by the Versailles Treaty, the Silesian Plebiscite was held, and an overwhelming majority of the Upper Silesia region voted for integration with newly independent Poland; in Tarnowskie Góry however, 82% of the participants favored Germany in large part due to "imported" votes. In 1922, after over 300 years of Austrian and Prussian domination, Tarnowskie Góry was returned to Poland. At the onset of World War II in 1939, Polish independence came to an end and Nazi German occupation began. Mass arrests of priests, teachers, intelligentsia and fighters of three anti-German, Silesian Uprisings (1919-1921) took place. The synagogue was burned while German minority enthusiastically welcomed invading Nazi forces. During the occupation, the Armia Krajowa (Country Army, the Polish underground resistance organization) undertook a sabotage campaign against Nazi forces, railroad-transport and local industry. Liberation of Silesia came in early 1945; in order to save the industrial infrastructure of the region, the Red Army opened an offensive supported by massive numbers of troops with minimal use of heavy artillery and air-bombardment. According to witnesses, the entire operation was extremely fast; countless, shoulder-to-shoulder, crowds of Russian soldiers passed through the town in matter of minutes followed by almost complete still. Liberation from Nazi occupant came with a great price and Poland once again lost its freedom; although officially a sovereign country, in fact the state was ruled by a puppet regime installed and fully controlled by Joseph Stalin's Soviet Union.

Recent

In a few decades following the end of World War II. some planned-economy developments were initiated, bringing an influx of immigrants from other parts of Poland. Several large factories opened in Tarnowskie Góry’s area including: FASER (the largest manufacturer of safety equipment and mining lamps in Soviet bloc), FAZOS (the manufacturer of automated mine-wall reinforcements), ZAMET (manufacturer of metallurgical equipment), CHEMET (manufacturer of chemical equipment), and Lead and Zinc Mill Miasteczko Slaskie (the second largest facility of this kind in Europe). All of these "Molochs" employed thousands of workers and emitted countless pollutants into the surrounding environment. For decades the railroad industry remained one of the largest local employers, however, due to an aging infrastructure, it slowly decreased in volume and other cities of the area begun to handle more and more of the rail traffic in terms of both cargo and passenger trains.

The fall of Iron Curtain in 1989 brought freedom back to Poland accompanied by the chaos of restructuring and privatization, which led to a very small but steady decline of population, beginning in mid-1990s and lasting throughout the first decade of the 21st century. Today, Tarnowskie Góry is an industrial, cultural, educational, and technological center and very attractive tourist destination.

Timeline

Places and attractions

1. From the History of Tarnowskie Góry (Z dziejów Tarnowskich Gór.)
2. King John III Sobieski, (Król Jan III Sobieski.)
3. Folklore from the land of Gwark, (Kultura ludowa ziemi gwarków.)
4. Renaissance Room - A Collection of western-European paintings,(Sala renesansowa - kolekcja malarstwa zachodnioeuropejskiego.)

1. Częstochowa - established in 1382) Jasna Góra monastery and house of the famous, miraculous Black Madonna, an icon supposedly painted by St. Luke on the Last Supper's, cypress table-top;
2. Błędów Desert- the only desert in Europe, with unique plant and wild-life habitats and sand dunes;
3. Kraków - former Polish capital, large cultural center; a perfectly preserved pearl of Medieval/Gothic and Renaissance architecture, Royal Castle complex and National Cathedral, the resting place of several Polish Monarchs and other famous Poles;
4. Oświęcim - Museum and Memorial of the World War 2, Nazi-German concentration camp in Auschwitz and Birkenau;
5. Upper Silesian megalopolis - including number of large cities like: Katowice, Sosnowiec, Chorzów, Bytom, Zabrze, Gliwice, or Tychy;
6. Silesian Culture and Recreation Park - large, over 1,500 acres (607 ha), park and recreational complex in Chorzów;
7. Silesian Stadium;
8. Silesian Zoological Garden;
9. Silesian Planetarium;
10. Silesian Amusement Park, swimming-pool complex and water-park;
11. Upper Silesian Ethnographic Park;
12. Katowice International Fair Grounds; rose-garden; shops, restaurants, cafés, show pavilions where flower shows and other exhibits are held;
13. Pszczyna one of the most beautiful old towns in Poland, located by the large lake and within visual distance from the mountains, offers a lot in terms of recreation, cultural, and outdoor activities, from water-sports through golf;
14. Silesian Beskids, (Beskid Ślaski) a mountain range, part of Carpathian Mountains, with several winter sports/skiing resorts and charming mountain towns and villages that include: Bielsko Biala, large city and vibrant cultural and industrial center, Cieszyn, an old border town between Poland and Czech Republic, Żywiec old mountain town with its world-famous, old, Żywiec Brewery;
15. Czech Republic;
16. Opole an old, town of great history and significance. Located on river Odra.

People

Twin towns — Sister cities

Tarnowskie Góry is twinned with: