Old Market Square

What makes it special

The Town Hall in the middle of the square is the building to look at first. Its Renaissance front dates from a mid-16th-century rebuild. Above the clock, look for the small ledge and the tower doors.

The goats come with a legend. A cook preparing an official feast burned the meat, so he stole two goats to roast in its place, and they escaped up the town hall tower.

Beside the Town Hall runs a row of small, narrow merchants' houses with an arcade passage along their fronts. Their slim gables and decoration were how a trading family showed its wealth.

Most of the square was rebuilt after 1945 to its old Renaissance and Baroque fronts. The plain modern blocks among the gables replaced the arsenal and the cloth hall in the 1950s.

Visiting

Start at the Tourist Information Centre on the south side, at Stary Rynek 59/60, and pick up a free map. It is open every day, with shorter hours on Sunday.

Be in front of the Town Hall a few minutes before noon to claim a place, and keep your eyes on the doors of the small tower on top of the façade.

Then walk a lap of the square's edges. A fountain stands in each corner, Proserpine, Apollo, Neptune and Mars, so you can use them to keep your bearings. Come back in the early evening, when the square is calmer and the light suits photographs.

Guided or on your own

The city's regular walking tour needs a ticket, and only licensed guides lead it, in Polish or English. It meets at the same tourist information centre on the square. Take it if you want the legends and stories behind the façades.

Tips

The square is busiest at noon and on weekends, more so in summer and during events. Early mornings and weekday afternoons are quieter.

Every June the square hosts a lively street fair, Jarmark Świętojański, so expect it at its fullest then. Getting around is harder when the square is full; if you move slowly, stand at the edge of the crowd.