The Tarnów History Museum, newly opened in May 2020, is located in two freshly renovated Renaissance townhouses on Tarnów's market square. Dating all the way back to 1565, it includes some sublime arcades plus a wine cellar. In 1780 it was adapted to be the headquarters of Austrian General d'Alton, who took the city in 1772. From the 19th century the building was in Jewish possession, while after the war it became the property of the city of Tarnów, receiving its major facelift recently. Currently the cellar floor has a prehistoric focus with some stunning fossil displays, including teeth and bones from a local woolly Polish mammoth. There is also a photograph display, with audio, of what life was like in Tarnów during the Nazi occupation of the city and beyond. The first floor is dedicated to the Medieval history of the city, with priceless parchment papers on display, but it's the collection of 15- and 16th-century swords that really grabs one's attention, surely enough to satisfy even the most fervent Excalibur fanatics. Moving up to the first floor, the mascot of Tarnow - the organ grinder - will guide you through the various stages of the city's evolution. Visitors will learn the whole history of Tarnów via state-of-the-art multimedia displays, from its fledgling 14th-century founding days, to the fire that eviscerated the town, to the present. En route, the exhibit touches upon the city's favourite sons Jan Tarnowski, General Józef Bem and Tadeusz Tertil, while also ensuring the contributions of the Jewish population are taken into account.