Casimir the Great Square in Będzin

Casimir the Great Square (Plac Kazimierza Wielkiego), known as the Old Market Square, is the former market square in the Old Town of Będzin. It was laid out in the Middle Ages, before the town was chartered in 1358, and rescue excavations in 1977 revealed four levels of use, the oldest dating from the 10th-11th century.

The former market square

It was the town's central trading square. Będzin received its first market privilege in 1576. The square was quadrangular, in the centre of the oval town layout, and its surface was paved from the 15th century. It was surrounded by masonry buildings, unlike the rest of the town, which was wooden. The townhouses of the north frontage were demolished during the German occupation, and the last buildings there were pulled down in the 1970s for the expressway to the Katowice Steelworks. The square's present name has been in force since 1977.

What remains

On the square the townhouses at numbers 5, 10, 11, 15 and 27-29 have survived, entered in the municipal register of monuments. The market square stopped being the centre of the town's life, which moved to the area of Małachowskiego Street. Nearby rises Będzin Castle.

Practical information

• Location: the Old Town in Będzin; the square is open to everyone.
• It is about 200 m from here to the castle.