Turnov
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Turnov (-Czech, German: Turnau) is a town on the Jizera river in the northern Czech Republic. It has 16,000 inhabitants and is in the Liberec Region. It is a traditional center for gemstone polishing and lies in the heart of the Bohemian Paradise (Český ráj) nature reservation.
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[edit] History
Turnov was founded as a Bohemian town in 1272 by Jaroslav and Havel of Markvartice on a spur of rock overlooking the Jizerá. During the Middle Ages it came into the possession of the Wartenberg and Smiřický noble houses. The medieval town was frequently vulnerable to fires- tt was burnt by Lusatian 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 precious stones, metals, and jewelry was founded in Turnov in 1882.
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 during the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
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. 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 Castle Trosky, Castle Hrubá Skála, spa Sedmihorky and many forests with rock formations and hiking paths, making it a popular base for tourism.
The town has a memorial to Uffo Horn, a poet, writer, and revolutionary during the Revolutions of 1848.
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