Plac Solny (Salt Square) in Wiślica

The name Plac Solny – Salt Square – recalls that Wiślica was once a town of merchants, not just of royal assemblies. Here, at the foot of King Casimir the Great's Gothic collegiate church, stands the glass pavilion of the Archaeological Museum, and underground runs a route of more than 150 metres to the remains of Romanesque churches. The square is a good starting point for exploring one of the smallest towns in Poland.

History: salt, tolls and the road to Rus

A trade route from Prague and Kraków to Kievan Rus passed through Wiślica, and the museum points out that by the 11th century there was a church of St Nicholas here – the patron saint of merchants. Casimir the Great surrounded the town with a wall and three gates and granted it the right to run a salt warehouse, later confirmed by Casimir IV Jagiellon (1460) and John I Albert (1493). In 1386 Władysław Jagiełło exempted the townspeople from market fees and tolls. In 1347 the Wiślica Statutes, Poland's first codification of law, were proclaimed here.

The town declined after a fire in 1564 and the Swedish invasion of 1657. Granted town rights in 1326, Wiślica lost them in 1870 and regained them on 1 January 2018 – with 503 residents it was then Poland's smallest town for a year, until Opatowiec took the title.

What to see around the square

• Archaeological Pavilion (Plac Solny 35), opened in 2022 – home of the Archaeological Museum, a branch of the National Museum in Kielce.
• Underground route linking the pavilion with the reserve beneath the basilica: remains of the 11th-century St Nicholas church, two Romanesque collegiate churches and the famous 12th-century gypsum floor.
• Basilica of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary – the Gothic collegiate church founded by Casimir the Great, with Ruthenian-Byzantine frescoes in the chancel.
• Passion of Christ column from the second half of the 17th century – a stone pillar shrine by the square.
• Długosz House from 1460 with Gothic wall paintings – a few minutes' walk away.

Good to know

In 2018 the basilica complex, together with the St Nicholas church remains and the hillfort "on the meadows", was declared a Historic Monument of Poland. The hillfort on the marshy meadows near town dates from the 10th–11th centuries, and the chronicler Jan Długosz called the palace complex with two rotundas "Regia" – the royal seat.

Tripto tip

The square itself takes 15 minutes, but allow 1.5–2 hours with the museum and basilica. Last admission to the museum is one hour before closing, and holidays have separate hours – check the National Museum in Kielce website. From Busko-Zdrój (about 17 km) take road 776, then turn onto road 771, which leads straight to Plac Solny. Buses also run to Wiślica from Busko and Kielce.