Hay Market in Szczecin

Rynek Sienny (the Hay Market) is a cobbled, rectangular square, the main square of Szczecin's Old Town. Until 1945 it was called Heumarkt. The Old Town Hall stands by it, and some of the tenement houses were rebuilt in the 1990s.

Origin of the name and trade

The name comes from the medieval hay trade, and the market was created in the Middle Ages.

For centuries a marketplace operated on the square, where, among other things, everyday goods were sold. In 1833-1835 the western frontage was built up with an exchange building, which replaced an earlier sailors' house. After 1879 the Old Town Hall no longer served the city authorities and its rooms were let for services.

Destruction and post-war rebuilding

During the Second World War Allied bombing heavily damaged the buildings around the market, and the town hall, the exchange and the neighbouring buildings burned down.

After the war the remains of the tenement houses and the exchange building were demolished, the town hall was rebuilt in the Gothic style (three walls) and the Baroque style (the southern gable wall), and the square was named Rzepichy Square. The name remained in force until 1995, and the term Stary Rynek (Old Market) was also used. The western frontage was replaced by three blocks several storeys high with pitched roofs and balconies facing the square.

Rebuilding in the 1990s

In the second half of the 1990s the rebuilding of the tenement houses of the southern and western frontages began.

Some buildings regained an appearance close to that before the wartime destruction, such as the Monin house at number 4. Numbers 1-3 are rebuilt tenement houses. Next to it stands Loitz House, and a short walk leads to St Peter and St Paul's Church.

Practical information

• Location: Old Town; the square is surrounded by Sienna and Mściwoja II streets, and Osiek Street leads to it.
• This is an open city square, accessible without a ticket. Services and premises in the tenement houses have their own opening hours.