Poznań Old Town is a central neighbourhood of the city of Poznań in western Poland, covering the area of the walled medieval city of Poznań. It is called Stare Miasto in Polish (although that name may also refer to the wider administrative district of Stare Miasto, which extends to most of the city centre and northern parts of the city). The original settlement of Poznań was on the river island of Ostrów Tumski, and dates from at least the 9th century. The Old Town neighbourhood, however, corresponds to the city on the left bank of the Warta, to the west of Ostrów Tumski, which received its charter in 1253 (work on the Royal Castle, which would be at the western side of the ring of walls, began several years earlier). The city walls were taken down when the city expanded in the early 19th century, but the street layout of the Old Town still corresponds closely to that of the former walled city, with a grid of narrow streets. Surviving fragments of the walls, some of which have been further reconstructed, can be seen on ul. Stawna and ul. Masztalarska in the north, and next to Chopin Park in the south. The Old Town is centred on Stary Rynek, the Old Market Square. The historic Town Hall (Ratusz) stands in the middle of that square. At the western end of the Old Town is the hill (Góra Przemysła) on which the castle stood. The Old Market Square (Stary Rynek) is the large square on which the Old Town neighbourhood is centred. The sides of the square measure approximately 140 metres (460 ft). There is a group of buildings in the central part of the square, chief of which is the Old Town Hall (Ratusz). On each side of the square are tall rows of former tenement houses (kamienice), many of which are now used as restaurants, cafés and pubs (often with outdoor tables on the square itself). The square was originally laid out in around 1253, with each side divided into 16 equal plots, and many changes to architectural layout and style were made over the centuries. Major changes were made from 1550 onwards by Giovanni Battista di Quadro, who reconstructed the Town Hall and several other buildings in Renaissance style (severe damage had been done to the buildings by a fire of 1536). Most of the buildings in the square were reconstructed following heavy damage in the Battle of Poznań (1945). The Old Market Square (Stary Rynek) is the large square on which the Old Town neighbourhood is centred. The sides of the square measure approximately 140 metres (460 ft). There is a group of buildings in the central part of the square, chief of which is the Old Town Hall (Ratusz). On each side of the square are tall rows of former tenement houses (kamienice), many of which are now used as restaurants, cafés and pubs (often with outdoor tables on the square itself). The square was originally laid out in around 1253, with each side divided into 16 equal plots, and many changes to architectural layout and style were made over the centuries. Major changes were made from 1550 onwards by Giovanni Battista di Quadro, who reconstructed the Town Hall and several other buildings in Renaissance style (severe damage had been done to the buildings by a fire of 1536). Most of the buildings in the square were reconstructed following heavy damage in the Battle of Poznań (1945). The central group of buildings includes: The Old Town Hall (see separate article), standing in the northeast corner of the central building group (facing east). A row of merchants' houses (domki budnicze), dating from the 16th century, painted in a multicoloured design (1953--1961), with an arcade containing souvenir stalls, facing east. One of the houses (no. 17) displays the coat of arms -- a herring and three palms -- of the merchants' guild from which the houses take their name. The former town chancellery, adjoining the merchants' houses, facing south. The old town weighing house (Waga Miejska), behind the Town Hall, facing north. This was first built 1532--1534, reconstructed 1563, demolished as unsafe in 1890 (replaced by a Renaissance-style "New Town Hall" used by the city government, heavily damaged in 1945), rebuilt in its former style in 1950--1960 based on surviving prints, renovated in 2002, now used for weddings and other functions. The guardhouse (Odwach), facing west, originally an 18th-century wooden building, rebuilt in Classical style in 1783--1787, heavily damaged in 1945, rebuilt 1949--1951 and used as a museum. It now houses a museum dedicated to the Greater Poland Uprising (1918--1919). The Arsenał gallery, a postwar building (1959--1962), standing on the site of a former market building which was used as an arsenal from the 17th century, and was destroyed in 1945. The Wielkopolska Military Museum, a modern building (1959--1962) standing on the site of a former cloth hall (sukiennice).

• published: 04 Aug 2013
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