In Turek, the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Mehoffer exhibitions offer insights into different aspects of Józef Mehoffer’s art. You can also explore the city through its historic market square area, another church and a self-guided city tour. This lets you shape your visit around art, architectural history or independent discovery.
Mehoffer art in a church and museum
The Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was built in the Neo-Gothic style from 1904 to 1913. Józef Mehoffer created its interior decoration, which includes polychrome decoration and some of the stained-glass windows from 1933 to 1939. Polychrome decoration refers to a multicoloured finish. This allows you to view the Neo-Gothic building and its later artistic decoration as two distinct periods.
The Museum of the City of Turek has a permanent exhibition on the subject, “Turkowskie dzieło Józefa Mehoffera”. In the five so-called Red Rooms, you can see sketches and full-scale designs for polychrome decoration and stained-glass windows. The Józef Mehoffer Museum in Turek also displays designs used for Mehoffer’s work in the parish church. This lets you consider the art in the church alongside the related designs.
Organised groups can visit the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus with a member of staff from the Museum of the City of Turek, provided they arrange the visit by phone in advance. Visits take place during the museum’s opening hours, except on Saturdays and Sundays. If you plan this visit, arrange a time by phone beforehand.
Churches and historic cityscape
The market square area around plac Wojska Polskiego also offers tangible points of reference for the city’s history. Its historic buildings date, in their present form, from the second half of the 19th century. They include two- and three-storey buildings and cast-iron balconies with elaborate wrought-iron work. As you explore, look out for these architectural details and compare them with the architecture of the churches.
The Evangelical-Augsburg Church dates from a different period: it was built from 1849 to 1852 to designs by Henryk Marconi. By comparison, the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was built several decades later, from 1904 to 1913. The two churches therefore represent different periods of construction; the Neo-Gothic style is documented for the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
For a historical perspective on green spaces, Park im. Żerminy Składkowskiej adds another dimension: the historic park included a pond and a small island. Alongside the churches and the historic buildings in the market square area, this detail broadens the picture of Turek’s history to include historic park design.
City exploration and routes nearby
If you’d like to explore Turek on your own, you can follow the “Tour de Turek” quest. Written clues and riddles guide you around the city, ending at a hidden stamp. This turns exploring the city into a specific challenge, rather than limiting it to looking at historic buildings.
Near Turek, the “Zdrojki” walking and cycling routes run through Zdrojki Forest, Szadowskie Góry and Karpaty to Władysławów. They are designed to be easy for residents of Turek and Władysławów to use. Unlike the city quest, these routes take you through the forest and the named nearby places. If you’d like to combine city history with an activity nearby, you can make these routes a focus of their own.
Visitor information
The tourist information centre in Turek provides information about attractions in the city and surrounding area. It also offers publications and maps of Turek and the surrounding area. These can help you choose between sights in the city and places nearby.
You can plan your visit around different interests: Mehoffer art in the church and museum, historic architecture in the city or a self-guided exploration. The “Zdrojki” routes add an option near Turek to these city-based themes.
Discover more destinations: Marcjanów, Kawęczyn, Dzierżązna
Back to the main travel overview: Turek.
