Main Market Square – Cracow’s Living Room and the Heart of City Life
Main Market Square – Cracow’s Living Room and the Heart of City Life
If you are in Cracow, a visit to the Main Market Square is not just recommended – it is essential. This is the very heart of the Old Town and the place where any Cracow adventure truly begins. Here, the city opens itself to you and invites you to look deeper.
A Square Shaped by History
The Main Market Square was laid out in 1257, when Cracow was granted municipal rights. It was marked out at the point where two major trade routes crossed. The square forms a vast near-perfect square, each side measuring almost 200 metres, with eleven streets leading out in different directions.
For centuries, the Main Market Square served as Cracow’s political, economic, and social centre. This was where the city’s most important institutions were located: the Town Hall, the Cloth Hall, and the parish church. It also provided the backdrop for key historical events that shaped the city and the country.
The square as we see it today is largely the result of extensive 19th-century redevelopment. Much of the Town Hall was demolished, leaving only the solitary Town Hall Tower that still stands. Buildings that once surrounded the Cloth Hall were also removed, giving the square its open character. In the late 19th century, the monument to the national poet Adam Mickiewicz was erected on the eastern side of the square. In the early 21st century, a contemporary sculpture of a human head appeared near the Town Hall Tower on the western side, adding a modern accent to the historic space.
The Square Today – A Place of Encounter
Despite the passage of centuries, the Main Market Square remains Cracow’s central meeting place. Locals often think of it as the city’s living room; for visitors, it is often the starting point for further exploration. The square is framed by a ring of beautiful historic townhouses, each with its own story.
St. Mary’s Basilica dominates the eastern side of the square. Inside, visitors can admire the magnificent late Gothic altarpiece carved by Veit Stoss. In front of the church, flower stalls operate year-round, adding colour and life to the space.
At the centre of the square stands the Cloth Hall, where unique souvenirs from across the Lesser Poland region can be found. Around it, countless cafés and restaurants allow visitors to pause and quite literally taste the city. At number 23 on the Main Market Square is Poland’s oldest bookshop. Beneath the square lies an underground museum revealing what Cracow looked like in medieval times – a reminder that the city was once part of the Hanseatic trade network.
Discover Cracow with a Guide
KrakowResor offers professional guided tours during which visitors can explore the Main Market Square and many other key sites in the city. Tours are available for both groups and individual travellers and are led by experienced guides with excellent knowledge of Swedish.
Welcome to the Main Market Square – where Cracow’s past and present meet, and where the rhythm of the city can be felt with every step.
