Old Butchers' Stalls (Stare Jatki) in Wrocław

At the entrance to Stare Jatki from Odrzańska Street stands a group of bronze animals – a goose with an egg, a goat, a pig, a piglet, a duck, a rabbit and a giant rooster – and a plaque in the cobbles reads: "In honour of slaughtered animals / The consumers". It is a wry nod to the past of this lane, where meat was sold for almost seven centuries from 1242. Today the former butchers' stalls house galleries and artists' studios, and the narrow alley a few steps from the Market Square is one of the most atmospheric corners of the Old Town.

History: seven centuries of butchers

The lane with its two rows of stalls was created in 1242 at the wish of Duke Bolesław the Bald. A dispute over the right to the stalls dragged on until 1261 and ended in the burghers' favour, and the butchers formed their own guild, with 38 cowsheds on Rzeźnicza Street and a slaughterhouse by the Oder. From 1350 there were 48 stalls, 24 on each side, each on a plot about 3 m wide. In the 14th century the wooden booths were replaced by small brick houses, and pointed-arch gates closed the lane at both ends. The name "Old Meat Benches" first appears in records in 1375. The trade slowly faded: by 1898 meat was sold in only half the stalls, and by 1939 just two butchers remained – Ernst Heide at no. 21 and Gustav Moese at no. 24.

After the war: from ruins to galleries

After the Second World War 12 houses survived, and rebuilding began in 1951 with no. 24 by the gate from Odrzańska Street. Only houses 1 and 2, the former butchers' guild hall, kept their original layout, wooden ceilings and acanthus-leaf paintings – today they house the Wrocław branch of the Union of Polish Artists. The first gallery opened in 1992, and the monument to slaughtered animals, initiated by Piotr Wieczorek, appeared in 1997. The goose, goat, pig and piglet came first, the duck joined in the 20th century, the rooster and rabbit in the 21st, and in June 2017 a calf – a cow would have been too big.

What to look for

• The stone gutter running down the middle of the lane, preserved since the Middle Ages.
• The wooden arcades of the stalls, now sheltering the galleries.
• The narrow passage between nos. 10 and 11, leading to Malarska Street.
• The "Butcher" dwarf, placed on 1 August 2005 – one of Wrocław's hundreds of small bronze gnomes – and the Dwarf with a Ball in the Domus Gallery.
• The rooster on its plinth, standing apart at the Odrzańska entrance – the largest of the sculptures.

Tripto tip

Jatki is open around the clock and free; 15–20 minutes is enough for a stroll, longer if you visit the galleries (they have their own opening hours). In the evening, fairy lights under the arcades light up the lane and it is noticeably quieter than the Market Square. In June the Union of Polish Artists holds the Jatkowisko artists' festival here, with a parade of people in animal masks, exhibition openings and free workshops. Jatki fits easily into a walk between the Market Square and St Elizabeth's Church.