Old Town Square Warsaw Poland

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Old Town Square

Warsaw


For those with an eye for historic buildings this is Warsaw's loveliest square, not to mention its oldest having been established at the turn of the 13th century. It’s enclosed by around 40 tall houses exhibiting a fine blend of Renaissance, baroque, Gothic and neoclassical elements; aside from the facades at Nos 34 and 36, all were rebuilt after being reduced to rubble by the Germans at the close of WWII.

In the centre of the square stands a statue of Syrenka, the fierce mermaid brandishing a sword that's become a symbol of the city; in winter an ice rink surrounds the statue while in summer the square has a festive atmosphere with plenty of food, drink and souvenir stalls as well as cafe tables.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Warsaw attractions

1. Adam Mickiewicz Museum of Literature

0.03 MILES

Occupying two historic tenement buildings in the Old Town Sq, this museum does a good job of covering the life and times of Poland's national poet Adam…

2. Museum of Warsaw

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Occupying 11 tenement houses on the north side of the Old Town Sq, this superb museum tells Warsaw's dramatic history in innovative ways. Start with the…

3. Museum of Pharmacy

0.05 MILES

Officially named after the Master of Pharmacy and women's rights campaigner Antonina Leśniewska (1866–1937), this charming little museum is devoted to the…

4. Heritage Interpretation Centre

0.06 MILES

At the end of WWII the Old Town was mostly piles of rubble. To gain a full appreciation of the mammoth and heroic effort needed to reconstruct the…

5. Barbican

0.09 MILES

The red-brick Barbican, a semicircular defensive tower topped with a decorative Renaissance parapet, is part of the medieval fortifications surrounding…

6. St John's Cathedral

0.1 MILES

Considered the oldest of Warsaw’s churches, St John's was built at the beginning of the 15th century on the site of a wooden church, and subsequently…

7. Warsaw Archdiocese Museum

0.11 MILES

Ecclesiastical art, including paintings by Jacek Malczewski (1854–1929) and Wlastimil Hofman (1881–1970), as well as drawings, sculptures and metallic…

8. Little Insurgent Monument

0.11 MILES

Commemorating the child soldiers who fought and died during the Warsaw Rising, this poignant statue is of a boy wearing an adult helmet and holding a…