Market Square in Przyrów

For more than a century and a half Przyrów was officially a village, yet its market square never stopped looking like a town's. Researchers studying small towns stripped of their status by the Tsarist reform of 1869–1870 ranked it second only to Koszyce for its urban character, and on 1 January 2024 Przyrów officially became a town again. The elongated square with streets leaving from its four corners still follows the 14th-century town plan, and a red-brick Gothic Revival church closes the view.

History: from charter to restored rights

Przyrów was founded as a royal town on 15 March 1369 under Środa law, on the land of the village of Komorów, at the initiative of Jakub Rechicki of Nagłowice. According to the municipality's website, when the town was founded the parish moved from St Nicholas's church to a second church dedicated to St Dorothy. The town grew in the 15th–17th centuries, but in 1655–1660 the Swedish invasion destroyed about 70% of its buildings, and Lubomirski's rebellion and a shift in the main road from Kraków to Greater Poland added to the decline. Przyrów lost its town rights on 31 May 1870.

From the late 18th century a large Jewish community lived here; in 1857 it made up 43% of the population. In 1942 the Germans deported the Jews of Przyrów via the Koniecpol ghetto to the Treblinka extermination camp. On 8 January 1945, 43 people were murdered here in a reprisal action.

What to see

• The layout of the square – the elongated shape with four exit roads in the shorter sides dates from the founding charter, while the continuous brick frontages are from around 1900.
• The Church of Our Lady of the Scapular and St Dorothy – Gothic Revival with Romanesque Revival touches, built of red brick in 1908–1911 thanks to Father Edward Bendkowski and consecrated on 29 October 1911. The interior is Baroque in style, with Baroque sculptures and paintings.
• A memorial boulder from 1984 honouring Poles who fought in the Second World War, with religious symbols added during the renovation.
• The paved square after its 2005 renovation, with a chessboard of granite and concrete setts, benches and maples.

Tripto tip

The square is accessible around the clock; half an hour is enough for a stroll and a look inside the church. It is also worth walking to St Nicholas's church, which the municipality describes as the oldest historic building in the area, dating from the early 16th century. Przyrów lies on the Wiercica, the same river that rises from springs in Złoty Potok, so it pairs well with a trip upstream to its source.