Turek: Mehoffer Art and City History
Accommodation in Turek
Turek brings together art, churches, and city history, with opportunities to explore the town on your own. The work of Józef Mehoffer is particularly closely connected with the Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus: the church showcases his designs, while the town museum presents designs for this work. There are also historic buildings around the market square and a puzzle trail through the town.
Mehoffer in the Church and Museum
The Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus was built in the Neo-Gothic style from 1904 to 1913. Józef Mehoffer created its interior decoration, including polychrome decoration and some of the stained-glass windows, dating from 1933 to 1939. In the church, you can experience both early 20th-century architecture and Mehoffer’s artistic work.
The permanent exhibition “Turkowskie dzieło Józefa Mehoffera” at the Turek Town Museum explores this connection. Sketches and design cartoons for the polychrome decoration and stained-glass windows are displayed in five so-called “red rooms.” The Józef Mehoffer Museum also presents the designs used for Mehoffer’s work in the church. If you are interested in how the plans became the finished decoration, you can explore both aspects together.
Organized groups can visit the church with a member of the museum staff by arranging an appointment by phone in advance. The visit takes place during museum opening hours, but not on Saturdays or Sundays. Make arrangements before you arrive.
Churches and Market Square History
The Evangelical-Augsburg Church is also one of Turek’s notable historic buildings: it was built from 1849 to 1852 to plans by the architect Henryk Marconi. The buildings in the market square area at plac Wojska Polskiego date in their present form to the second half of the 19th century. Details to look out for include two- and three-storey buildings and cast-iron balconies with elaborate wrought-iron ornamentation.
Turek offers more than a single point of interest for art history. The Neo-Gothic parish church, the Evangelical-Augsburg Church, and the buildings around the market square reflect different periods in the town’s history. A permanent exhibition at the museum adds another perspective, focusing on traditional weaving and textile crafts in Turek and the surrounding area: “Tradycyjne tkactwo i włókiennictwo w Turku i okolicy.”
Explore Turek on Your Own
For a town exploration with small challenges, try the “Tour de Turek” quest. Follow written clues, solve puzzles, and find a hidden stamp at the end. This format combines navigation with attentive exploration, without requiring you to join a guided group.
If you want to explore the Mehoffer theme further, you can see sketches and designs in the museum, while the church showcases the completed work. The textile exhibition focuses on a different subject: weaving and textile crafts in the town and its surroundings. Art, architectural history, and crafts offer different ways to discover Turek.
Information and Routes Nearby
The tourist information office in Turek provides information about attractions in the town and surrounding area, as well as publications and maps. These can help you plan your way around if you want to include destinations nearby in addition to your visit to the town.
Near Turek, the “Zdrojki” walking and cycling routes pass through the Zdrojki forest, Szadowskie Góry, and Karpaty, continuing as far as Władysławów. They are designed to be easy for residents of Turek and Władysławów to use. These routes complement the cultural attractions with an opportunity to explore the surrounding area on foot or by bike.
More destinations: Kawęczyn, Dzierżązna, Marcjanów.
Back to the main travel overview: Turek.
