Tuchów

Tuchów is a town in Tarnów County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland, with a population of 6,476 (2004). The town lies on the Biała river, and is located on an electrified rail line from Tarnów towards Nowy Sącz and the Polish - Slovak border.

== History == The first historical note about Tuchów dates back to 1105. A document of papal legate Gilles de Paris tells us that the village had been given to the Tyniec Benedictine Abbey by Władysław Herman’s wife. A prosperous salt mine operated here at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries, which caused King Casimir III the Great to grant Magdeburg rights to Tuchów in 1340. Polish writer Jan Długosz wrote in his Chronicles about the development of local artisan guilds: flourmills, carpenters, blacksmiths and furriers. By the 17th century, the town became rich by making profits from different crafts, salt exploitation and trade. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Tuchów started to decline because of invasions by Swedish and Transilvanian armies (see Swedish invasion of Poland, fires and disease outbreaks. The railway connection between Tarnów and Leluchów was opened in the 19th century, which contributed to the economical revival of the town.