Rynek Glowny - Main Square - Great Public Spaces | Project for Public Spaces (PPS)

Rynek Glowny - Main Square

Main Square in the center of the City Of Krakow
Krakow, Poland

This is the main open public square of downtown Krakow.

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Why It Works

This marketplace is the most important public space in the City of Krakow and has a shape of a square which measures 200 meters. It is the most beautiful Main Square in Poland.

What Makes Rynek Glowny - Main Square a Great Place?

The Main Square is located in the middle of the historical city of Krakow. This place is accessible from every direction via 11 streets and two passages. Main Square is useful for every inhabitant of the city. It’s also the main tourist attraction in Krakow. People can move on its surface basically in every direction and thus are able to find easily its features. Generally it is accessible only by foot. The surface of the Main Square is smooth and made out of large stone boards.

The first impression of this place is fantastic. You can sit there on the benches and in the cafés which are located on the sides of the square. There is regular maintenance. The police station, which is located here, is responsible for safety of the visitors. There is no access for vehicles.

All areas of the space can be used by anyone. The Main Square offers shopping activities. Visitors can spend the time in cafés located on different floors of buildings, and outdoors in warmer seasons. Different events take place on the Main Square each year. There are several museums, university facilities, churches, theaters, cinemas, galleries, clubs and some important public facilities within the walking distance from the Main Square.

Main Square is a basic meeting point for larger and smaller groups of people, as well as both the young and old. Due to the multiplicity of uses of this space, it is attractive to all social groups. Its popularity is very strong among inhabitants of Krakow and the tourists. Main Square is the main element of local pride.

Contact Info:

Lennart Sobiecki: Lennart@o2.pl

User Comments:

> Add your own comment about Rynek Glowny - Main Square

06/21/05 pradip joshi said:: Well I think Krakow’s square is the most beautiful in Europe. If St. Marks is Europe’s drawing room then Rynek Glowny is its great hall. A beautiful town plan that lifts spirits.
11/27/05 Joshua Kent said:: We concur. When we think of Poland our first thoughts are to this square and the many wonderful times we had there day and night. It is a square for all people. It is maybe the top square in all of Europe.
01/19/06 Chris Wodnik said:: It's really nice to hear such good opionions about Krakow. Thanx for this! I hope to see more foreign tourists in our beautyful country! :) Regards from Poland! ;)
01/19/06 Filip Gaska said:: Indeed one of the most beautiful markets in the world. No doubt about that. Always plenty to do, things to see, people and events to watch. I have to say though that the pictures on this site do not do it justice whatsoever.
01/20/06 Jarek Wronka said:: Some nice shots from Krakow: http://lech.biezanow.net/kra_ranek/index.html You really should had came here ;-) Great things happen here everyday...
01/20/06 daniel maczkowski said:: What about Wroclaw (Breslau) ? Pictures from Wroclaw; http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wroc%C5%82aw
01/23/06 Jakub Buchalik said:: Yes indeed. This is one of the most beautiful urban places I have ever been to. The whole preserved old city is situated around this square and once you start to approach it (especially in the evening) it seems as if the heart of Krakow was beating exactly there. Unfortunatelly between the Rail Station and Main Square there will be built an ordinary shopping mall (by ECE). This is an outcome of problems of too liberal contemporary Polish urban planning. And also lack of vision from the city officials who where not able to discipline the investor to build something with better urban quality.
02/06/06 Adam Wilkus said:: Some beautiful pictures of the city, among others those taken at the Market Square, you will find at http://www.wikipedia.org, especially in the english version (e.g. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Krakow_Sukiennice.jpg - the medieval shopping centre Sukiennice) and at the webpages:
http://www.ga.com.pl/rynekg.htm http://www.ga.com.pl/wawel.htm (pictures of Market Square and situated close to it Royal Castle of Wawel). At the centre of Cracow, very close to Sukiennice and Saint Mary's church (which have beautiful interior, among others paintings and medieval altar of famous sculptor Veit Stos http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:StMarysBasilicaInterior.JPG http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Gothic_altar_veit_stoss.jpg) there are some new archeological explorations being made right now. There is a special webpage dedicated to the explorations: http://www.krakow-rynek.pl/ - it contains some pictures of objects found there at the Market Square (Rynek). Archeologists recently found among others some cementary relicts from X-XII century (under water-pool build by Germans during World War II and later filled with sand and burried) and remains of a Grand Scale building from XV century (the place was a popular commercial market square in the past and sellers coming from diffrent countries were selling their goods there) All the finds (among them many tools, decorations and even dice :-) will be presented at the exposition under the oldest (built in the 10th century) and the smallest church in Cracow, situated at edge of the square: http://www.ga.com.pl/krakow24.htm and at the Cracow's Museum of Archeology. Have a look at some of them: http://www.krakow-rynek.pl/v1/?name=news
03/04/06 Katarzyna Siwek said:: It is true that choice of pictures was not very fortunate. It shows rainy day, doesn't show cafés and restaurants on the square, space, how busy it is with people, music, small shops, flowers stands, hackneys, beautiful old buildings, churches, etc. People are very hospitable and like foreigners. My American friends remember it as the most romantic place they ever visited. For me this is center of culture, history and science (oldest universities). (Pictures and information you can find at http://www.krakow.pl/en/, http://www.krakow-info.com/) Also I recommend Bujak's photo albums. I left Cracov for a carrier abroad but I left my heart there.