Turnov
Encyclopedia
Turnov (ˈturnof; ) is a town
on the Jizera
river in the northern Czech Republic
. It has about 14,500 inhabitants and lies in the southern part of Liberec Region
. It is a traditional center for gemstone
polishing, glass craftmanship and arts.
Turnov lies in the heart of the Bohemian Paradise
(Český ráj) nature reserve which makes it a wonderful place for tourists and summer residents. The town is also an important traffic crossroads of 3 railways and the Prague–Liberec highway. Turnov has a large Museum (finalist in European museums competition), 3 galleries, 6 churches and a synagogue. The small old town of Middle Ages urbanism is surrounded by modern garden neighbourhoods and large parks representing an organic connection between urban areas and nature. The region is well-known for many castles, châteaux and excellent rural architecture
.
n town in 1272 by Jaroslav and Havel of Markvartice
on a spur of rock overlooking the Jizera River. A Dominican cloister was founded by Saint Zdislava, wife of Sir Havel. During the Middle Ages
, Turnov came into the possession of the Wartenberg
and Smiřický noble houses. The medieval town was frequently vulnerable to fires—it was burnt by Lusatia
n crusaders in 1468 and during the Thirty Years' War
by Swedes
in 1643, as well as a conflagration in 1707. The first European technical school for the processing of gemstones, metals, and jewelry was founded in Turnov in 1882 and still exists as one of the best schools of this type in the world.
Its Renaissance
town hall dates from 1562, while its three historical churches date from throughout the 14th-19th centuries. In a suburb lies the Hrubý Rohozec
castle
, built in 1250 and later reconstructed into a château
; today it is admissible to the public. The municipality itself is now the owner of the Valdštejn Castle, the cradle of the famous Wallenstein family, which is also open for tourists.
Turnov has long been known for its expertise with gemstones. It attracted many medieval craftsmen and artisan
s who produced jewelry out the local Bohemian garnet
. Its Museum of the Bohemian Paradise has a significant collection of gemstones and jewelry, as well as exhibits on geology
, archaeology
, and folklore
.
Turnov is surrounded by many historical and natural monuments in the Bohemian Paradise, such as the ruins
of the Trosky
castle, the Hrubá Skála
castle, the Sedmihorky spa, and many forests with rock formations and hiking paths, making it a popular base for tourism
.
). The community spoke Czech and has had its own rabbi
until 1916. After the Shoah
there were only small number of people practicing religion left and the synagogue was not used. Today, the number of people of Jewish origin is relatively high in the region but only few are practicing religion. Between 1950 and 2006 the synagogue has been used as a warehouse and will be restored to become a concert place and a memorial. The old Jewish cemetery is in a relatively good condition.
with: Alvesta
, Sweden
Idar-Oberstein
, Germany
Jawor
, Poland
Keszthely
, Hungary
Murska Sobota
, Slovenia
Niesky
, Germany
Reeuwijk
, Netherlands
Zacatepec de Hidalgo
, Mexico
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
on the Jizera
Jizera River
The Jizera is a river that begins on the border between Poland and the Czech Republic and ends in Central Bohemia. Like some other names in Bohemia, the name Jizera is of Celtic origin, as the Celts lived in the area during Roman times .-Geography:It develops from the confluence of the Great Jizera...
river in the northern Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. It has about 14,500 inhabitants and lies in the southern part of Liberec Region
Liberec Region
Liberec Region is an administrative unit of the Czech Republic, located in the northernmost part of its historical region of Bohemia. Region borders with Saxony, and Poland...
. It is a traditional center for gemstone
Gemstone
A gemstone or gem is a piece of mineral, which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments...
polishing, glass craftmanship and arts.
Turnov lies in the heart of the Bohemian Paradise
Bohemian Paradise
Bohemian Paradise is a protected landscape area located in the North of the Czech Republic. There are numerous hiking and biking trails and several campsites...
(Český ráj) nature reserve which makes it a wonderful place for tourists and summer residents. The town is also an important traffic crossroads of 3 railways and the Prague–Liberec highway. Turnov has a large Museum (finalist in European museums competition), 3 galleries, 6 churches and a synagogue. The small old town of Middle Ages urbanism is surrounded by modern garden neighbourhoods and large parks representing an organic connection between urban areas and nature. The region is well-known for many castles, châteaux and excellent rural architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
.
History
Turnov was founded as a BohemiaBohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
n town in 1272 by Jaroslav and Havel of Markvartice
Havel of Markvartice
Havel of Markvartice was a prominent Bohemian nobleman, the Duke of Lemberk. He married Zdislava Berka when she was 17 years old...
on a spur of rock overlooking the Jizera River. A Dominican cloister was founded by Saint Zdislava, wife of Sir Havel. During the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, Turnov came into the possession of the Wartenberg
Stráž pod Ralskem
Stráž pod Ralskem is a town in Česká Lípa District, Liberec Region, Czech Republic. It has a population of 4,238 The baroque composer Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber was born in Stráž pod Ralskem in 1644.- People :...
and Smiřický noble houses. The medieval town was frequently vulnerable to fires—it was burnt by Lusatia
Lusatia
Lusatia is a historical region in Central Europe. It stretches from the Bóbr and Kwisa rivers in the east to the Elbe valley in the west, today located within the German states of Saxony and Brandenburg as well as in the Lower Silesian and Lubusz voivodeships of western Poland...
n crusaders in 1468 and during the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
by Swedes
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
in 1643, as well as a conflagration in 1707. The first European technical school for the processing of gemstones, metals, and jewelry was founded in Turnov in 1882 and still exists as one of the best schools of this type in the world.
Its Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
town hall dates from 1562, while its three historical churches date from throughout the 14th-19th centuries. In a suburb lies the Hrubý Rohozec
Hrubý Rohozec
Hrubý Rohozec is a castle in Turnov, Czech Republic. The original structure was connected to a Prism Tower by a defensive wall. Its purpose, in the 14th century, was to monitor the trade route running below it. Between the two parts of the castle Jan von Šelmberk, and later Konrad Kraiger...
castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
, built in 1250 and later reconstructed into a château
Château
A château is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor or a country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally—and still most frequently—in French-speaking regions...
; today it is admissible to the public. The municipality itself is now the owner of the Valdštejn Castle, the cradle of the famous Wallenstein family, which is also open for tourists.
Turnov has long been known for its expertise with gemstones. It attracted many medieval craftsmen and artisan
Artisan
An artisan is a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative, including furniture, clothing, jewellery, household items, and tools...
s who produced jewelry out the local Bohemian garnet
Garnet
The garnet group includes a group of minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. The name "garnet" may come from either the Middle English word gernet meaning 'dark red', or the Latin granatus , possibly a reference to the Punica granatum , a plant with red seeds...
. Its Museum of the Bohemian Paradise has a significant collection of gemstones and jewelry, as well as exhibits on geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
, archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
, and folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
.
Turnov is surrounded by many historical and natural monuments in the Bohemian Paradise, such as the ruins
Ruins
Ruins are the remains of human-made architecture: structures that were once complete, as time went by, have fallen into a state of partial or complete disrepair, due to lack of maintenance or deliberate acts of destruction...
of the Trosky
Trosky Castle
Trosky Castle is a castle ruin located some 10 km south of Semily, Liberec Region, Czech Republic. It is one of the most famous Czech castles and is situated on the summits of two basalt volcanic plugs. On the lower peak is the two-storey structure called Baba , and on the higher outcrop is the...
castle, the Hrubá Skála
Hrubá Skála
Hrubá Skála is a village and municipality in Semily District of the Liberec Region in the Czech Republic. It is located about southeast of Turnov within the Bohemian Paradise landscape area. The municipality also comprises the villages of Bohuslav, Borek, Doubravice, Hnanice, Krčkovice, Rokytnice...
castle, the Sedmihorky spa, and many forests with rock formations and hiking paths, making it a popular base for tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
.
Notable residents
- Josef Pekař, historian
- Jan PatočkaJan PatockaJan Patočka is considered one of the most important contributors to Czech philosophical phenomenology, as well as one of the most influential central European philosophers of the 20th century...
, philosopher - Josef Václav Šimák, historian
- Alexander Kliment, novelist
- Antonín Marek, priest, author
- Vilém Picek Podsvijanský, poet
- František Xaver Drozen, violine-maker
- Jan Prousek, painter, ethnographist
- Čeněk Paclt, traveller and writer
- Roman KoudelkaRoman KoudelkaRoman Koudelka is a Czech ski jumper who has competed since 2005. His personal best is 211 metre, set in Harrachov, Czech Republic, 2011.-Career:...
, ski jumper
Mayors
- JUDr. Václav Šolc 1989-1998
- Ing. Milan Hejduk 1998-2006
- PhDr. Hana Maierová since 2006 (incumbent)
Jewish settlement
The Turnov Jewish community is of Middle Ages origin. The relationship between Jews and Christians here was not bad thus there was no strict urban separation (ghettoGhetto
A ghetto is a section of a city predominantly occupied by a group who live there, especially because of social, economic, or legal issues.The term was originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live. The term now refers to an overcrowded urban area often associated...
). The community spoke Czech and has had its own rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
until 1916. After the Shoah
Shoah
Shoah may refer to:*The Holocaust*Shoah , documentary directed by Claude Lanzmann * A Shoah Foundation...
there were only small number of people practicing religion left and the synagogue was not used. Today, the number of people of Jewish origin is relatively high in the region but only few are practicing religion. Between 1950 and 2006 the synagogue has been used as a warehouse and will be restored to become a concert place and a memorial. The old Jewish cemetery is in a relatively good condition.
Twin towns — Sister cities
Turnov is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with: Alvesta
Alvesta
Alvesta is a locality and the seat of Alvesta Municipality in Kronoberg County, Sweden, with 7,647 inhabitants in 2005.Alvesta is an important railway junction, joining the Stockholm–Malmö–Copenhagen railway with the Gothenburg–Kalmar/Karlskrona railway.- References :...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
Idar-Oberstein
Idar-Oberstein
Idar-Oberstein is a town in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. As a Große kreisangehörige Stadt , it assumes some of the responsibilities that for smaller municipalities in the district are assumed by the district administration...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Jawor
Jawor
Jawor is a town in south-western Poland with 24,347 inhabitants . It is situated in Lower Silesian Voivodeship . It is the seat of Jawor County, and lies approximately west of the regional capital Wrocław.In the town can be found a Protestant Church of Peace...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
Keszthely
Keszthely
Keszthely is a Hungarian city of 21,100 inhabitants located on the western shore of Lake Balaton. It's the second largest city by the lake after Siófok....
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
Murska Sobota
Murska Sobota
Murska Sobota is a city in northeastern Slovenia. It is located in the eponymous municipality near the Mura River in the region of Prekmurje and is the regional capital.-Name:...
, Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
Niesky
Niesky
Niesky is a small town in Upper Lusatia in eastern the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It has a population of about 11,000 and is part of the district of Görlitz....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Reeuwijk
Reeuwijk
Reeuwijk is a former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The former municipality covers an area of 50.11 km²...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
Zacatepec de Hidalgo
Zacatepec de Hidalgo
Zacatepec de Hidalgo is a town in the Mexican state of Morelos. It stands at...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...