Turnov

Turnov (Turnau) is a town in Semily District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 15,000 inhabitants. It is a traditional centre for gemstone polishing, glass craftsmanship and arts. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.

Turnov lies near the Bohemian Paradise Protected Landscape Area which makes it a place for tourists and summer residents. The town is an important traffic crossroads. Turnov has a large museum, three galleries, six 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.

Administrative parts
The villages and town parts of Bukovina, Daliměřice, Dolánky u Turnova, Hrubý Rohozec, Kadeřavec, Kobylka, Loužek, Malý Rohozec, Mašov, Mokřiny, Pelešany and Vazovec are administrative parts of Turnov.

Geography
Turnov is located about 19 km south of Liberec. The Jizera River flows through the town. It lies in the Jičín Uplands. The highest point is the hill Cestník at 421 m above sea level. Turnov lies at the edge of the Bohemian Paradise Protected Landscape Area.

History
The first written mention of Turnov is in a deed of King Ottokar II from 1272. Turnov was founded around 1250 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 later medieval period, Turnov came into the possession of the Wartenberg and Smiřický noble houses. The medieval town was frequently vulnerable to fires – it was burnt by Lusatian crusaders in 1468 and during the Thirty Years' War by Swedes in 1643, as well as a conflagration in 1707.

Turnov has long been known for its expertise with gemstones. It attracted many medieval craftsmen and artisans who produced jewelry out the local Bohemian garnet. The first European technical school for the processing of gemstones, metals and jewelry, nowadays the Applied Arts Secondary School, was founded in Turnov in 1884 and still exists as one of the best schools of this type in the world.

Jewish community
The Turnov Jewish community was first documented in 1527. After it ceased to exist at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, new Jewish settlers were invited to the town by Albrecht von Wallenstein in 1623. The Jewish ghetto was established in 1647. Most of the Jewish population were killed during the Holocaust and only 19 of them returned to Turnov after World War II. The Jewish community officially ceased to exist in 1961.

Transport
Turnov is an important traffic crossroads. The D10 motorway from Prague ends just beyond the municipal limits and runs through the town as the I/10 road (part of the European route E65). The I/35 road (the section from Liberec to Hradec Králové, part of the European route E442) also runs through the town.

Turnov is the terminus of the railway line Prague–Turnov. The town is also located on the interregional railway line from Liberec to Hradec Králové and Pardubice.

Sights
The Renaissance town hall in Turnov 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 Waldstein family, which is also open for tourists.

The former synagogue in Turnov dates from 1779. Between the 1950s and 2003, the building was used as a warehouse. In 2003, the building was bought by the Town of Turnov and it was restored to become a concert place and a memorial. The Jewish cemetery was founded in the 17th century. The oldest preserved tombstone dates from 1649.

Museum of the Bohemian Paradise in Turnov has a significant collection of gemstones and jewelry, as well as exhibits on geology, archaeology and folklore. It was founded in 1886.

Notable people

 * Josef Pekař (1870–1937), historian
 * Jan Košek (1884–1927), footballer
 * Jan Patočka (1907–1977), philosopher
 * Alexandr Kliment (1929–2017), novelist
 * Jaroslav Rudiš (born 1972), writer, journalist and musician
 * Jan Farský (born 1979), politician
 * Roman Koudelka (born 1989), ski jumper
 * Adam Helcelet (born 1991), decathlete

Twin towns – sister cities
Turnov is twinned with:
 * 🇸🇪 Alvesta, Sweden
 * 🇩🇪 Idar-Oberstein, Germany
 * 🇵🇱 Jawor, Poland
 * 🇭🇺 Keszthely, Hungary
 * 🇸🇮 Murska Sobota, Slovenia
 * 🇩🇪 Niesky, Germany