Old towns & squares

Market Square in Tarnowskie Góry

The market square of Tarnowskie Góry took shape in the second half of the 16th century and has the form of an irregular trapezoid — the gwarki, silver and lead miners, built houses around mine shafts, not along a planned grid. Two shafts were later converted into town wells; one, reconstructed in the 1950s as a wooden windlass with a roof, still stands in the western part of the square. Beneath the square, at a depth of 26 metres, runs the St. James adit — a former mining drainage gallery.

The red-brick town hall

Overlooking the square rises the Neo-Renaissance town hall of 1898, considered one of the finest in Silesia. It was built of red clinker brick, granite and sandstone in the northern Neo-Renaissance style; during construction the helmet of the nearly 40-metre tower burned down. The facade is decorated with the coats of arms of the Donnersmarcks, Prussia and the town, and a figure of a miner from 1959.

The miners’ arcades and the Sedlaczek House

Along the western frontage stand arcaded houses from the second half of the 16th century — trade there was reserved exclusively for people connected with mining. Cross vaults rest on four-sided pillars. At number 1 operates the Sedlaczek House with the Municipal Museum (since 1958) and the historic Wine Cellar; during the Vienna campaign King Jan III Sobieski stayed here. The square also features the Evangelical Church of the Saviour from 1780 — the Lutheran parish is the oldest in Upper Silesia.

In practice

Cafés and restaurants operate in the townhouses, and the 2015 miner statue is a favourite photo spot. The Historic Silver Mine and the Black Trout Adit are close by — a perfect complement to the day.