Old Town Market Place, Warsaw

Square in Warsaw, Poland

Warsaw's Old Town Market Place (Rynek Starego Miasta) is the center and oldest part of the Old Town of Warsaw, Poland. Immediately after the Warsaw Uprising, it was systematically blown up by the German Army. After World War II, the Old Town Market Place was restored to its prewar appearance.

The Old Town Market Place is the true heart of the Old Town, and until the end of the 18th century it was the heart of all of Warsaw. It originated in the late 13th century, at the same time that the city was founded. Here the representatives of guilds and merchants met in the town hall (built before 1429, pulled down in 1817), and fairs and the occasional execution were held. The houses around it represented the Gothic style until the great fire of 1607, after which they were rebuilt in late Renaissance style and eventually in late Baroque style by Tylman Gamerski in 1701. The main feature at that time was the immense town hall, reconstructed in 1580 in the style of Polish mannerism by Antoneo de Ralia and again between 1620 and 1621. The architecture of the building was similar to many other structures of that type in Poland (e. g. the town hall in Szydłowiec). It was adorned with attics and four side towers. A clock tower, embellished with an arcade loggia, was covered with a bulbous spire typical for Warsaw mannerist architecture (an example being the Royal Castle). The district was damaged by the bombs of the German Luftwaffe during the Invasion of Poland (1939). Today it is a major tourist attraction.