Old towns & squares

Market Square in Sławków

The market square of Sławków is the heart of a Jura town on the edge of the Zagłębie Dąbrowskie coal basin — calm, rarely crowded, and hiding a monument that almost no other square in Poland can boast. Eight centuries of trade and mining history can be read in and around its townhouses.

The Austeria — an inn from the 13th century

The square’s most treasured building is the austeria, an old inn that still serves its original function. Although the building’s present form comes from the 19th century, 13th-century fragments survive in its walls — which is why it is called one of the oldest, perhaps the oldest, operating inn in Poland. After revitalisation it welcomes guests again.

A 1905 town hall and the St. Florian shrine

In the middle of the square stands the town hall of 1905 with a small turret; the earlier, 18th-century one was wooden. Next to it stands the obelisk “In tribute to the fallen and murdered inhabitants of Sławków”. On the other side of the square, a wooden shrine of St. Florian was rebuilt in 1993, holding a lime-wood, polychrome statue of the saint — the firefighters’ patron, placed here to protect the town from fire. The square also includes a gabled house from the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, seat of the municipal culture centre.

In practice

You can walk the square in half an hour, but plan for longer: the Błędów Desert is about 11 km away, and Gródek Park in Jaworzno 9.5 km. Cafés operate in the surrounding townhouses; the town hall is viewed from outside, and the austeria invites you for a meal.