Old Town Market Place

The Old Town Market Place served as the heart of Warsaw until the end of the 18th century, and it remains the true heart of the Old Town to this day. The market place dates back to the late 13th century, the same time the city was founded. It was a hub for guilds and merchants who met in the town hall (constructed before 1429 but demolished in 1817), and it also hosted fairs and the occasional execution. The houses around the market place were originally built in Gothic style until a great fire in 1607, after which they were rebuilt in late-Renaissance style and later in late-Baroque style by Tylman Gamerski in 1701.

The most notable feature of the market place during this time was the large town hall, which was reconstructed in 1580 in the style of Polish mannerism by Antoneo de Ralia and again between 1620 and 1621. The building was similar in architecture to other town halls in Poland and was adorned with attics and four side towers. A clock tower with an arcade loggia and a bulbous spire, typical of Warsaw mannerist architecture, was also part of the structure.

During the Invasion of Poland in 1939, the market place was damaged by bombs from the German Luftwaffe. In 1944, the German Army deliberately destroyed the ancient market place after suppressing the Warsaw Uprising. However, in the 1950s, the market place was rebuilt and restored to its former glory. Today, it is a major tourist attraction.

The development of the market square was originally predominantly wooden, but by the 15th century, the majority of the structures were made of brick and maintained in the Gothic style. The market itself was crowded with stalls and booths, but at least since 1429, the Old Town Hall had been standing here. On what is now Dekert's side, there was a pillory and a jougs (metal collars formerly used as an instrument of punishment), and from the 16th century, a well was also located here.

After a fire in 1607, the market square's buildings underwent a renovation, which remained practically unchanged until the devastation in 1944. The Old Town Hall was demolished in 1817. From 1949 to 1953, the buildings were reconstructed, referencing the appearance before World War II. During the reconstruction, the houses were equipped with amenities (sanitation), which were not present in the pre-war tenements. All were covered with ceramic roofs, which was not the norm there before the war. Some apartments were combined, as they were too small. The reconstruction of the tenements used original, surviving doorways, Gothic niches, and polychromes.

During the renovation completed in 2016 of the tenements occupied by the Warsaw Museum on the Dekert side, the color scheme of the tenement facades was changed, allowing for a reversal of the results of renovations from the 70s and 80s of the 20th century and restoring the original colors of the historic tenements from the time of their reconstruction in the 1950s.

The statue of the mermaid in the Old Town, which was constructed in the 1800s, coincided with the creation of the city's new water supply system. Many of the resultant fountains were adorned with marine life-themed sculptures, but this particular one held a unique significance as it symbolizes Warsaw itself. Over time, the sculpture was relocated multiple times, finally making its way back to the Old Town in 1999.

Each side of the vast square, which measures 90 by 73 meters (295 by 240 feet), is named after 18th-century Polish parliamentarians:

• The north side (numbers 28-42) is known as Dekert's Side (Strona Dekerta), named after Jan Dekert, and it is home to the Warsaw Historical Museum. The entrance to the museum is located in a building called "The Negro" (Pod Murzynkiem, nr 36), which is named after the traditional sign above the doorway.
• The east side (numbers 2-26) is called Barss' Side (Strona Barssa), and it is where the Adam Mickiewicz Museum, which pays tribute to the 19th-century Polish poet, is located.
• The west side (numbers 15-31) is known as Kołłątaj's Side (Strona Hugo Kołłątaja).
• The south side (numbers 1-13) is named Zakrzewski's Side (Strona Zakrzewskiego).

The maintenance of the square is overseen by Wario Wojciech, who can often be seen wearing traditional attire consisting of a red suit and a curved sword.

Underneath eight tenement houses on the Dekert side, as well as the Burbachowska tenement house, there are cellars available for visiting as part of the Cultural Cellars Trail of the Old Town.