Tarnów - Main Square - Żydowska and Wekslarska Streets - Bima - [07.09.2024]

Town Square remain unchanged since the location of Tarnów in 1330 although the buildings date to the 16th to 18th century.

Situated in the center of the town, the Town Square has always been a place where social life and trade concentrated. Its location in the central part of the town hill, on the ground slightly lowering towards south was advantageous as far as a rain water drainage is concerned. The dimensions of the Square in relation to other towns are rather typical and its sixty-six acre area places it among smaller ones. The buildings, wooden at first, were replaced consequently with a brick structures from the beginning of the 15th century, starting with masonry cellars built under a wooden house. Fires that broke in Tarnów at the end of the 15th century completely destroyed merchants’ buildings within the Town Square. With the support of Jan Amor Tarnowski, the then owner of Tarnów, the houses were rebuilt in a new attractive form, around centrally located Town Hall. In the 16th century those buildings were turned into typical middle-class tenement houses with arcades. Soon after, due to several wars, the town was decaying. The slow process of recovery and development begins in the second half of the 18th century, especially during the Austro-Hungarian reign. Nowadays the building surrounding the Town Square are mainly two-storey tenement houses representing various architectonic styles and features. The most characteristic are houses number 20 and 21 located in the northern frontage. Another unique structure is an early 20th century passage situated in the western frontage and connecting the Town Square with Plac Kazimierza Wielkiego (King Kazimierz the Great Square).


– Well preserved 17th and 18th century tenement houses comprise compact settlement with narrow passages and halls and small yards that represent type of architecture specific to the Jews living in Tarnów. Narrow front walls, rare in the western part of the Old Town create a unique atmosphere of the street. Name of the street – Żydowska (Jewish Street) originates from the place where the first Jews started to settle in the second half of the 15th century. Being allowed to reside within dedicated quarter of the old town only, they had to adjust their buildings to limited space. These were the Jews from the oldest district who at the beginning of the 19th century started to settle in Grabówka district, on the east side of the town. Some of the houses preserved the iron shutters of Jewish shops once located inside. Also, on a few door frames one can discover traces of mezuzahs (a scroll of parchment containing two parts of Torah). A census from 15 October, 1785 revealed that 75% of old town residents were the Jews.

The oldest record documenting Jewish owner of a realty in the Town Square, dates back to 1791 when Aron Garfunkel bought Jacenty Majewski’s house No 58 at an auction. Located in the eastern frontage, the house survived until today, but was renumbered as 16. Twenty-three years later, as the then-created plan of the town unveils, few more houses in the Town Square were owned by the Jews. The lot and house No 17 belonged to Nathan Arzt, Berl Sax owned house No 11 and part of house No 19 (the one without arcades) was the property of Joseph Stubenreich. In the second decade of the 19th century, Jewish settlement expanded consistently towards pl. Rybny, ul. Zakątna and into Town Square. Most of the poor Jews, however, lived in small apartments in the oldest Jewish district of the town outlined by Żydowska and Wekslarska streets. In following few decades, rapidly growing Jewish population settled mostly the eastern part of Tarnow: Grabowka district and along ul. Lwowska. In the result, Tarnów evolved into bi-cultural Polish-Jewish city. Immediately before WW2, some 45% of the town’s residents were the Jews. Town Square witnessed the martyrdom of local Jews during German occupation. From June 11 untill 19, 1942 the Germans executed nearly 3.000 women, men and children. On the corner building of Żydowska Street, a plaque commemorates Tarnów victims of the holocaust.