Market Square in Lądek-Zdrój

Lądek-Zdrój is often called the oldest spa in what is now Poland, but its market square is older than the resort's fame. The town received its charter in 1282, and around the town hall you still find 17th- and 18th-century houses and a Baroque Holy Trinity Column carved in Michael Klahr's workshop as a thank-offering after a great fire. In September 2024 the centre was flooded, and signs of the rebuilding are still visible.

History: town, fires and spa

Lądek received town rights in 1282 from Duke Henry IV Probus of Wrocław. Historical accounts say there were bathing facilities here as early as 1241, destroyed by the Mongols on their way back from the Battle of Legnica, and by the late 15th century Lądek was known as a spa.

The first town hall is recorded in 1537. It burned down in 1739, and later buildings burned in 1784 and 1804. The present building is the result of a major rebuilding in 1872 – an eclectic three-storey hall with an octagonal tower and a pointed roof. It houses the town council and the registry office.

What to see

• The Holy Trinity Column on the west side of the town hall, carved in sandstone in 1739–1741 in the workshop of Michael Klahr the Elder. It was funded by councillor and notary Johann Anton Reichel as a thank-offering after part of the town survived a fire on the night of 7–8 March 1739. Klahr himself is credited with the figure of Christ at the top and St John the Apostle on the balustrade; the other figures, including Mary, St Joseph, St Anne and St Joachim, were made by his assistants.
• The houses around the square – most date from the 18th century, and no. 25 goes back to the 17th. On house no. 3, look for a stone house mark dated 1581.
• The town hall with richly decorated gables, friezes and the town arms.

Did you know?

A stone pillory from the second half of the 16th century, moved here after 1964 from the village of Skrzynka, stood by the town hall. It was destroyed in the 2024 flood, which also filled the town hall cellars; in 2026 renovation work on the building was still under way.

Tripto tip

Thirty to forty-five minutes is enough for the square and the column, but combine them with a walk to the Spa Park and the "Wojciech" bathhouse. The 16th-century Gothic St John's Bridge over the Biała Lądecka, which had survived earlier floods, was damaged in 2024 and is awaiting reconstruction, so check its current state before you go. From the centre, the blue trail climbs Trojak with its viewing platform and continues to the ruins of Karpień Castle.