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Historic Centre of Warsaw
Historic Centre of Warsaw*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
State Party	Poland
Type	Cultural
Criteria	ii, vi
Reference	30
Region**	Europe and North America
	Inscription history
Inscription	1980 (4th Session)
	* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List.; ** Region as classified by UNESCO.

Warsaw's Old Town Market Place (Rynek Starego Miasta) is the center and oldest part of the Old Town of Warsaw, capital of Poland. Immediately after the Warsaw Uprising, it was systematically blown up by the German Army.^[1] After World War II, the Old Town Market Place was restored to its prewar appearance.

[edit] History

Town Hall in 1701

The Old Town Market Place is the true heart of the Old Town, and until the end of the 18th century it was the heart of all of Warsaw. It originated in the late 13th century, at the same time the city was founded.^[2] Here the representatives of guilds and merchants met in the Town Hall (built before 1429, pulled down in 1817), and fairs and the occasional execution were held. The houses around it represented the Gothic style until the great fire of 1607, after which they were rebuilt in late-Renaissance style by Tylman van Gameren in 1701.^[3]^[4]^[3] The names of 18th century Polish parliamentarians are used for the four sides of this vast (90 by 73 m or 295 by 240 ft) square.^[5]^[4]

The district was damaged by the bombs of the German Luftwaffe during the Invasion of Poland (1939).^[4] The ancient Market Place was rebuilt in the 1950s, after having been again damaged by the German Army after the suppression of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising.^[6]^[4] Today it is a major tourist attraction.

[edit] Features

Dekert's Side

Barss' Side

Kołłątaj's Side

Zakrzewski's Side

The current buildings were reconstructed between 1948 - 1953,^[2] to look as they did in the 17th century when it was mostly inhabited by rich merchant families. The Warsaw Mermaid, a bronze scuplture by Konstanty Hegel, has stood as the symbol of Warsaw since 1855.^[7]

Each of the square's four sides has its own name:

Dekert's Side (Strona Dekerta), the north side (numbers, 28–42), named after Jan Dekert, which houses the Warsaw Historical Museum. The entrance is in a building called "The Negro" (Pod Murzynkiem, nr 36), after the traditional sign over the doorway.^[8]
Barss' Side (Strona Barssa), the east side (numbers, 2–26), with the Mickiewicz Museum honoring the 19th-century Polish poet.^[9]
Kołłątaj's Side (Strona Hugo Kołłątaja), the west side (numbers, 15–31).^[10]
Zakrzewski's Side (Strona Zakrzewskiego), the south side (numbers, 1–13). ^[11]