Turek, Poland

Turek [ˈturɛk] is a town in central Poland with 31,282 inhabitants as of 2009. It is the capital of Turek County.

"Turek" redirects here. For other uses, see Turek (disambiguation).
Turek
Jesus Holiest Heart church
Coat of arms
Motto(s): 
Turek zawsze po drodze / Miasto silne jak tur.
Turek always on your way / City strong as an aurochs
Turek
Coordinates: 52°1′N 18°30′E
Country Poland
VoivodeshipGreater Poland
CountyTurek County
GminaTurek (urban gmina)
Established12th century
City rights1341
Government
 • MayorRomuald Antosik
Area
 • Total16.16 km2 (6.24 sq mi)
Elevation
113 m (371 ft)
Population
 (2009)
 • Total31,282
 • Density1,900/km2 (5,000/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
62-700
Area code(s)+48 63
Car platesPTU
Websitehttp://www.bip.um.turek.pl

Turek has been situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship since 1999; it was in Konin Voivodeship from 1975 to 1998.

History

Turek is first mentioned in the historical record 1136, when it was listed as belonging to the archbishops of Gniezno. It received its city rights in 1341.[1]

The town was the capital of a district within the Kalisz region of the Russian Empire.[2] Following the end of the First World War in 1918, Turek became part of the Second Polish Republic. With the German invasion of Poland and the outbreak of the Second World War, Turek was occupied by the Wehrmacht and annexed by Nazi Germany. It was administered as part of the county or district (kreis) of Turek within Reichsgau Wartheland.

During the German occupation which began in September 1939, the nearly 3000 Jews in Turek were brutalized, forced into an overcrowded ghetto in 1940, starved, and robbed of all their possessions. In 1941, some men were sent to labor camps near Poznan, but the majority of Turek's Jews were sent to a rural ghetto in Kowale Panskie. In July 1942, most of them were sent to the Chelmno killing camp where they were gassed immediately. Only around 30 Turek Jews survived the war.

With the arrival of the Red Army in 1945 and the end of the war, Turek was integrated into the People's Republic of Poland.

International relations
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Poland

Twin towns — sister cities

Turek is twinned with:

Notable people
"Mehoffer's Bench"

See also
  • Józef Piłsudski monument in Turek

References
  1. Megargee, Geoffrey (2012). Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos. Bloomington, Indiana: University of Indiana Press. p. Volume II, 109-110. ISBN 978-0-253-35599-7.
  2. "Kalisz". In Encyclopædia Britannica. Volume 15. p 642. Accessed via Google Books 10/6/11.
  3. Małgorzata Smogorzewska: Posłowie i senatorowie Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej 1919-1939. Słownik biograficzny, tom I: A-D, Wydawnictwo Sejmowe Warszawa 1998



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