Streets squares and districts to visit Poland

Located in the heart of the old city, the point of convergence of all the tourist arteries, this vast quadrilateral of 200 meters on each side is one of the most beautiful squares in Europe. Dating back to 1257, it is a rare example of a preserved medieval urban layout (if we exclude the many shanties, stores, cemeteries and other facilities that were jumbled together in the square and have since been destroyed). In the summer, an incredible crowd enjoys the numerous café terraces, which compete for the spotlight, and the street animations. In winter, life goes on and the crowds gather for its superb Christmas market or the various ceremonies that punctuate the city's calendar. 47 houses now frame the square, built in the 14th and 15th centuries, they were remodeled in the mid-19th century in a neoclassical style that ensures an architectural homogeneity to the whole. Most of the buildings that encircle the square have their own history. No. 6, "the gray house", housed the first elected king of Poland, Henry of Valois. No. 7, called the Montelupi Palace, became the first post office of Poland under King Sigismund. At No. 9 the Gothic Bonerowska Palace was the home of the painter Stanislas Wispański. At no. 20 the Potocki Palace with its loggia-lined courtyard is a model of classical Krakow architecture, as is the 16th-century Pod Baranami Palace at no. 27, which today houses a cultural center.

This is the heart of the old town. The surrounding houses, rebuilt in their Baroque style, have superb facades that ensure the homogeneity of the square. These colorful houses contrast with the Communist architecture of the new town. The north side is considered the most beautiful part of the square, with its marble-framed houses, fittings and niches. Today, its center is occupied by the statue of the Mermaid, the symbol of Warsaw, erected in 1855.

The Rynek is spacious (it's the second largest in Poland after Krakow, at 173 m by 208 m) and elegant, and well worth several tours. Some ^13th-century facades remain, and while others have been restored to their original appearance, you'll find the Church of St. Elisabeth, nicknamed Jaś i Małgosia (Hansel and Gretel). On the Rynek you'll also see some of the bronze gnomes that nestle in the town. The tourist office has a brochure with a map to help you discover them all.

In the past, the port of Gdańsk was located along the Motława, at the foot of the town. The perpendicular streets leading to the port opened onto the river through fortified gates in the medieval enclosure. In the ^17th century, as maritime traffic increased, a long wooden quay was built to facilitate the transshipment of goods. By the ^19th century, the port had grown so much that it was permanently relocated to the Vistula River and its lateral canals. Today, this quay is the last vestige of the old port that made the city so rich, and is now a magnificent promenade on fine days, lined with beautiful houses with carved gables and doors that open onto perpendicular streets.

Leaving the Porte Verte, take the Long quai on the left. The first gate you come across is the Bread Gate (Brama Chlebnicka). Built in the ^15th century, it marks the entrance to Chlebnicka Street. Its coat of arms - two crosses without crowns - testifies to the town's attachment to the Teutonic Order at the time.

Turning onto Chlebnicka Street, the Schlieff House (Dom Schlieffów) stands at no. 12. This sublime ^16th-century house was dismantled in 1820 at the request of Prussian Emperor Wilhem III, and taken to Potsdam. It has since been rebuilt exactly as it was, and can still be admired today.

At no. 16, the English House (Dom Angielski) was the largest house on the street when it was built at the end of the ^16th century. It bears witness to the city's close trading links with England at the time. Returning to the quay, a little further on you'll find the Mariacka Gate (Brama Mariacka), which leads to the picturesque Mariacka Street.

Coming out onto the quay again, at no. 26, stands a house with a turret that once served as an observation post for ships and was later converted into an astronomical observatory. In 1845, it became the home of the Society of Naturalists (Dom Towarzystwa Przyrodniczego), frequented by the great scientist Humboldt, and since 1962 has housed the Archaeological Museum.

Next up are the Great Crane Gate (Brama Żuraw), the Holy Spirit Gates(Św. Ducha),Świętojańska(Brama Świętojańska) and Straganiarska(Brama Straganiarska). The latter three, built in the ^15th century, open onto the streets of the same names. Afterwards, we reach the Old Fish Market Square (Targ Rybny) and the Swan Belfry (Baszta Łabędź), a vestige of the vanished medieval wall.

This square is located on the other side of St. Barbara's Church and behind the Church of Our Lady. Although it is close to the main square, it is surprisingly quiet here. In the past, it was used for the trade of products that did not "smell good", mainly meat and fish. The construction of the tramway lines in 1902 marked the end of its commercial vocation. It was here that the Merkuriusz Polski, the oldest Polish newspaper, began to be printed in 1661.

Slightly to the west of the Rynek, this superb square has been faithfully rebuilt with red and blue Baroque facades. Formerly the town's salt market square, it now houses a 24-hour flower market. The square was built in the ^13th century and, until 1827, was known as the "Polish Market". The name was changed to Blücherplatz in the ^19th century, when a monument to Field Marshal von Blücher was erected on the square. Beneath the square, a large WWII bunker houses a cinema theme park.

The heart of Kazimierz used to be called "Jewish Square". At its center stands a circular hall built in 1900 for the ritual kosher slaughter of poultry. Today, the hall houses a multitude of kiosks selling the famous zapiekanki. Lined with a multitude of bars, cafés and restaurants, in the evening the square becomes the center of the nightlife. On Saturday and Sunday mornings, there's a small flea market that mixes trinkets and artifacts from the Second World War. Public toilets are located on the corner of Rue Estery.

This square takes its unusual name from a water reservoir called Zalewa wielka , which was used to prevent access to the fortress from the south side. Originally, the square had a square shape and was bisected by Moranda Street and surrounded by the houses of the city's rich merchants. Today, the square is occupied by a picturesque garden with a fountain in the middle, which is very popular on hot days in the Polish East. The beautiful mansions around it date from the end of the 19th century.

The Market Square is the heart of the Old Town. It is built in the shape of a square, 100 meters on each side, with two straight streets intersecting in the middle: Grodzka Street and Ratuszowa and Moranda Streets, which connect the Wielki Rynek with the other two squares, Wodny Rynek and Solny Rinek. All around the square there are beautiful bourgeois houses with richly decorated arches. They belonged to rich merchants, professors and noblemen of Zamoyski's entourage. Originally, the facades of all the houses on the square were covered with decorative parapets, which, however, were removed in the 1820s. Only the parapets on the houses in the northern part of the square were restored. These houses, called "Armenian houses", belonged to rich Armenian merchants. At No. 30 Ormiańska Street is the Wilczkowska House, which houses the Zamojskie Regional Museum. On Bartoszewiczowska Street there is the "house under the lion" at No. 26, the "house under the couple" at No. 24 and the "house under the Virgin" at No. 22. These houses are topped with attics and painted in bright colors. The portals are also worth seeing. Sculpted and richly decorated, they are often original. The Rynek is dominated by a magnificent town hall (Ratusza), built in 1651. The Rynek is a lively and busy place, so don't hesitate to venture into the arcades, access the cellars and discover its bars and restaurants.

This beautiful square takes its name, you guessed it, from salt. That's because, after the founding of the city, it was brought and stored here from the mines in and around Wieliczka. A true white mineral gold, vital for the preservation of the city-fortress' food supplies, this stock was better guarded than the city's treasury! Unfortunately, the original parapet walls and facade decorations have not been preserved, except on the house called "the rabbi's house" on the northern part of the square.

In the north of the old town, this neighbourhood was founded in the th century outside the ramparts. Poorer than Warsaw, this city had its own municipal structure, which made it an independent municipality. It goes through barbacane.

This square is steeped in history, thanks to the various elements that take pride of place here. First and foremost, there's the statue of Charles de Gaulle, symbolizing the general's commitment to training Polish soldiers during the Second World War. Near the statue, an artificial palm tree (an artistic device) highlights the Jewish community's past. Finally, the Warsaw Stock Exchange, housed in the former headquarters of the Polish Communist Party, completes the space.

Lined with some of the town's most beautiful houses, Rue du Long Marché is the very heart of the historic town. Roughly in the middle of the street, in front of the Cour d'Artus, stands the superb Fontanna Neptuna (Neptune Fountain). Created by Flemish artist Abraham Van Den Block in 1633, it symbolizes the close relationship between Gdańsk and the sea. The facades of the buildings that make up the complex are splendid, meticulously painted and colored. Don't hesitate to admire them and look for the little details hidden inside!

The calm, romantic and intimate atmosphere of this small pedestrian square, wedged between the Church of Our Lady and the Church of St. Barbara, contrasts with the bustle of the neighboring Rynek. Enclosed by tall buildings, it boasts exceptional acoustics: the melody of the hejnal can be heard perfectly when played in a southerly direction. In the middle stands a fountain, topped by a statue of a melancholy young man with a turban tied around his head.

The second part of the Royal Way, connecting the Rynek to Wawel, it ended at the foot of the fortifications of Okół, an ancient settlement located between the Old Town and Wawel. It is assumed that the square Św. Marii Magdaleny corresponded to the market square in Okół.

At No. 53 Grodzka Street, there is the Collegium Iuridicum, today it houses the Institute of Art History and two museums: Muszle Egzotycze is devoted to shells, Motyle Swiata to butterflies

This street leads from the Rynek to the Florian Gate, the main entrance to the city. It has always had a commercial vocation and preserves some beautiful Renaissance buildings, notably at nos. 3, 7, 9 and 26. At no. 45 is the Jama Michalika café, the most beautiful in Kraków, which in the Belle Epoque was the meeting place of the literary and artistic movement Młoda Polska (Young Poland). Its representatives created here the Zielony Balonik cabaret, the first political cabaret in Poland.

Now renamed in honor of the "Ghetto Heroes," Zgody Square was the heart of the Jewish ghetto. From here, thousands of Jews left for various camps. Today, a memorial by Cracow architects Piotr Lewicki and Kazimierz Latak stands in the center of the square, consisting of 68 empty chairs that symbolize the possessions left behind by the deportees. Each chair represents 1,000 Krakow Jews who fell victim to Nazi barbarism.

The Rynek, the historic center of Lublin, shows the traces left by the passage of time, but also the effects of human genius when it comes to restoring its heritage. It is not difficult to find in the cracked facades and faded decorations of its magnificent buildings the Lublin of yesteryear. Especially since the center was hardly touched by the ravages of war. Despite the poor state of rehabilitation, the charm of the Rynek is already intoxicating. All around, beautiful and richly decorated houses. At no. 12, the facade and windows of the Konopnic family house (1512) are decorated with sculptures in the form of masks, dragon heads and male and female bodies. The Klonowicz house at No. 2 was inhabited in the 16th century by the poet mayor of Lublin, who gave it his name. In the 18th century it was remodeled in the neoclassical style. The central square is dominated by the Royal Court, whose size is disproportionate to that of the square. Before, it was the town hall (1578).

Today it is the starting point for a tour of the Lublin Underground (Lubelskie Podzemia, from May to October visits from Tuesday to Friday at 10-12-14-16h, weekends from noon to 5pm every hour, Mondays at 10am and 2pm, 10 zl). The tour lasts about 45 minutes and the temperature varies between 7 and 12°C. The underground route is about 300 meters long and consists of corridors and 14 rooms in which, in the 16th century, goods were kept.

The central square was the heart of the city. From here, five wide avenues radiated out in the shape of a pentagon, leading to residential areas known as sectors and indicated by letters of the alphabet. It was to be surrounded by housing estates, party buildings, a theater to the south and the town hall to the north. But the project could not be fully realized, due to its staggering cost and Stalin's death in 1953, which put a stop to the architectural madness. As a result, City Hall, which was supposed to rival the Empire State Building, never saw the light of day (although the City Hall gardens do exist), and plans for an obelisk worthy of the one in Washington remained forever on the drawing board. In its place, on the adjacent Rue des Roses, stood a 7-t statue of Stalin, the subject of numerous riots during the socialist era. In reality, Nowa Huta exudes a real charm, that of the utopia of the perfect city, and a kind of melancholy towards the failed socialist dream.

If you walk from Centralny Square along Solidarności Avenue all the way to the end, you'll come to the Sendzimir steelworks (Huta im. Sendzimira, ul. Ujastek 1). The visit is forbidden to the public, but it's worth going there to see its huge sign and the steelworks' Administrative Center building. It is the best example of social realist architecture in Poland. Because of its architectural appearance, the Center is nicknamed the Vatican and the Doge's Palace.

Kanonicza Street, which runs parallel to Grodzka Street and leads to Wawel Hill, is probably the best preserved street in the Old Town and one of the most beautiful and picturesque in Krakow. Spared from the fire that destroyed much of the city in 1850, it has preserved its original medieval atmosphere.

The Długosz House (dom Jana Długosza)is located at no. 25. Jan Długosz, the first great historian of Poland and tutor of the children of King Casimir who lived there from 1450 to 1480, and its magnificent portal says "Nothing is better in man than his spirit". A bas-relief of 1480 representing the Virgin with the Child is also remarkable. Today it is the seat of the Pontifical Academy of Theology.

At No. 21 is the Dean's House(Dom Dziekański), by Santi Gucci, the architect of Sulkennice. Residence of the bishops of Krakow, the future Pope John Paul II stayed from 1963 to 1967. Its portal hides a beautiful Renaissance-style arcaded courtyard with an 18th-century statue of St. Stanislaus.

The palace ofBishop Florian of Mokrsko, at no. 18, also has a beautiful arcaded courtyard and a Renaissance portal. At No. 17 is the palace of Bishop Erazm Ciołek. The palace of Bishop Samuel Maciejowski at no. 1, built in 1531-1532, was converted into a court and prison in the early 19th century. It was used as a court and prison until 1970. The baroque portal still reads "Office of the Royal Inquisition Court".