Market Square in Koziegłowy

In the middle of the market square in Koziegłowy, low stone walls rise out of the paving like a small ruin. They are the foundations of the old town hall, uncovered by archaeologists and deliberately left on show in the new surface. The rectangular square, roughly 100 by 80 metres, keeps the layout of a medieval chartered town, and after a makeover in 2011 it changed from a market place into a tidy spot for a stroll, with a fountain inspired by the town's coat of arms.

History: the town of the "Goat's Head"

The first settlement of this name grew up in the 11th century next to a fortified stronghold, on the site of today's village of Koziegłówki. The town itself took shape a few kilometres to the west in the 14th or 15th century, when the large estate belonged to the Lis family. From the early 16th to the late 18th century Koziegłowy was part of the Duchy of Siewierz, ruled by the bishops of Kraków, and between 1870 and 1950 it lost its town rights. The name comes from the nickname "Kozia Głowa" (Goat's Head), which explains the goat heads in the coat of arms and on the fountain.

The town hall is first recorded in 1472. After a fire it was rebuilt in 1550 with the consent of Samuel Maciejowski, Bishop of Kraków, and given a gabled roof. Later the building disappeared from the square, and its exact outline only became known through the excavations carried out before the redesign.

From market place to makeover

For most of its history the square barely changed. The frontages survive in their 19th-century form; in the communist era some houses were replaced and tall trees were planted in the middle. A market was held here until 2008, one of the last of its kind in the region. The town signed the construction contract on 6 October 2009, and the project received about PLN 1.6 million from the European Regional Development Fund.

What to see

• The town hall outline – the foundations are marked in pale limestone within the granite paving, and parts of the walls rise above the surface.
• The goat-head fountain – a nod to the town's arms and name, with a pergola and benches beside it.
• Seven streets from the corners – they leave the square at right angles. Świętokrzyska led to Częstochowa and Żarki, Woźnicka to Lubliniec and Kościuszki to Siewierz.
• House no. 4 from the first half of the 19th century, a listed monument.

Tripto tip

Behind the eastern frontage, two short lanes from the square, stands the Church of St Mary Magdalene, with a Gothic 15th-century chancel and a nave added around 1679. At the end of Zamkowa Street there are traces of a castle, and in nearby Cynków you can see the wooden Church of St Lawrence from 1631. The square itself needs only 15–20 minutes: it is flat, free to visit at any time and easy with a pushchair. Koziegłowy lies on national road 1 between Częstochowa and Katowice, which makes it a good short break on a drive through Silesia.