Market Square in Kłodzko

Kłodzko Market Square (say "KWOTS-ko"), officially Bolesław Chrobry Square, is the heart of the old town in Kłodzko, a historic fortress town in southwestern Poland about 90 km (55 miles) south of Wrocław. The square is famously sloped, lined with colorful townhouses and dominated by a 19th-century town hall built around a medieval tower. It is free, open around the clock and the natural starting point for exploring the town's underground passages, Gothic bridge and hilltop fortress.

A square with Bohemian roots

The square was laid out between 1253 and 1274, when Kłodzko received a charter under German town law, probably on the site of an earlier market on the trade route from Prague to Wrocław. For centuries the Kłodzko Land belonged to the Bohemian Crown, later passing to Prussia; the German name of the town was Glatz, and it became Polish after 1945. A great fire in 1366 destroyed the brand-new town hall, and Renaissance townhouses and paving followed in the 16th century. After World War II the historic north side was torn down and only rebuilt in 1988–1996; a gradual restoration of the square began in 2007.

The square measures roughly 100 × 60 m (330 × 200 ft) and slopes noticeably, especially along its shorter sides. Eight streets leave from its four corners, two from each.

What to see

• Town Hall: built 1887–1890 in Neo-Renaissance style to designs by Ewald Berger. Its oldest part is the medieval tower with a Renaissance gallery and Baroque cupola. Inside are city offices, the public library, cafés and the tourist information office.
• Marian Column: west of the town hall, carved by Jan Adam Beyerhoff in 1680 and paid for by townspeople hoping to ward off the plague.
• Town fountain: at the northeast corner of the town hall, a basin with a shell held up by four dolphins, crowned by the Bohemian lion with a coat of arms; it dates from around 1700.
• Townhouses: look for No. 5, "At the Stag," with its Baroque facade and stag sculpture, No. 12, one of the few houses in town on a Gothic plot, and the Art Nouveau No. 13 with a historic pharmacy on the ground floor.

Visiting tips

Allow 30–45 minutes for the square itself, or a full day if you add the Underground Tourist Route, the Gothic bridge and Kłodzko Fortress. The cobbles and slope can be tiring with a stroller and slippery in winter, so wear good shoes. Prices in cafés and attractions are in Polish złoty (PLN); the tourist office in the town hall is the place to ask about English-language materials.

Getting there

Kłodzko lies on national road 8 between Wrocław and the Czech border. Trains run to two stations, Kłodzko Główne and Kłodzko Miasto; the latter is closer to the old town. Wrocław Airport is the nearest international airport.

Nearby

Right off the square are the entrance to the Underground Tourist Route on Czeska Street and the Church of the Assumption. Walk downhill to the Gothic bridge over the Młynówka with its Baroque statues and the twin-towered Franciscan church on Piasek Island, then climb to Kłodzko Fortress for views over the town.