Arcade House in Pyzdry

On the market square in Pyzdry, among brick town houses, stands a wooden house with an arcaded porch resting on four posts. It was built in 1768 and is the oldest surviving residential building in this former royal town on the Warta. Today it belongs to the municipality and serves as a free exhibition space on local history.

History: a survivor on the market square

The arcade house is single-storey with a tall attic and its gable facing the square. It has a wooden post-and-plank frame – horizontal beams slotted into vertical posts – and is plastered on the outside. The arcade in front of the entrance sheltered traders and residents from rain and sun. The building was renovated several times and thoroughly restored in 1956–1957, when the four arcade posts were also replaced.

For a few years it housed the Regional Museum of Pyzdry, which later moved to the buildings of the former Franciscan friary. Temporary exhibitions were then held in the arcade house. Under rules adopted by the town council in 2019, the building is owned by the Municipality of Pyzdry and serves as an exhibition space for items linked to the town's history.

What to see

• The arcade on four wooden posts facing the square – best seen from the opposite side.
• The gable with three attic windows, typical of timber houses in the small towns of Greater Poland.
• The exhibitions inside – the municipality lists displays such as "The Piasts in Pyzdry" and "The Pyzdry Townsman's Room", with a recreated burgher's home.

Tripto tip

Admission is free, and the building is accessible to visitors with disabilities. Opening days and hours are set separately by the mayor, so check the town's current notice or ask at the museum before you go. Dogs are not allowed inside (guide dogs excepted). Even if the house is closed, it is worth seeing the arcade from the square and combining the stop with a walk to the former Franciscan friary with the Regional Museum. A dozen or so kilometres away, in Borzykowo, you can see a reconstructed crossing on the former partition border.