Market Square in Oświęcim

Oświęcim Market Square (Rynek Główny; the town's name is pronounced roughly "osh-VYEN-cheem") is the heart of a medieval Polish town whose German name, Auschwitz, became synonymous with the Holocaust. Most visitors come only for the Memorial a few kilometers away, but the restored square shows the other, much older Oświęcim: 19th-century townhouses, a Neo-Gothic former town hall now housing a lively history museum, and the cellars of a 16th-century town hall displayed under glass. It is a good place to pause, eat and reflect after a visit to the camps.

Where it is and how to get there

Oświęcim lies in the Małopolska region, roughly 65 km west of Kraków; Kraków and Katowice airports are both within about an hour's drive. The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum is about 3 km from the Old Town. The square is a short walk from the castle and the riverside, and it is open around the clock.

A short history

The square was laid out as the town's main marketplace, with wooden houses and a brick town hall with a clock in the middle. Fires repeatedly ravaged the town, and the old town hall burned down completely in 1863. In 1966 a shopping pavilion called "Tęcza" (Rainbow) was built in the middle of the square on top of a German World War II air-raid shelter. Its demolition in 2009 launched a revitalization completed in May 2014 at a cost of about PLN 7.6 million, adding a reconstructed well, lighting, a fountain and glass displays over the old town hall cellars. In spring 2026 the town began replacing the uneven cobbles with granite slabs.

The Town Hall Museum

The Neo-Gothic former town hall on the south side (Rynek Główny 2) was built in 1874–1875. A bugle call composed by Aleksander Orłowski is played from it every day at noon. Since 2018 it has housed a branch of the Castle Museum, with an interactive exhibition on the town's 800-year history — prison cells, plagues and fires, World War I, and a 1936 Praga Baby car assembled in Oświęcim. English descriptions are available.

How long to spend

Allow half an hour for the square itself and 1–1.5 hours if you visit the Town Hall Museum. Look for the outline of the wartime shelter marked in the paving and the glass panels over the old cellars.

Opening hours and tickets (as of October 2026)

• October–May: Tuesday–Thursday and Sunday 10 a.m.–4 p.m., Friday 10 a.m.–3 p.m., closed Monday and Saturday. June–September: Tuesday–Sunday 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
• Tickets: PLN 12 regular, PLN 8 reduced, family PLN 30; free on Tuesdays for individual visitors. A combined ticket with the castle and tower costs PLN 25.
• Last entry one hour before closing.

Is it worth visiting?

Yes — especially if you are already in Oświęcim for the Memorial. The square, the Town Hall Museum and the nearby castle add context about the town's Polish and Jewish life before the war. The Great Synagogue Memorial Park and the Auschwitz Jewish Center are a few minutes' walk away.