Market Square in Biecz

The Market Square in Biecz is a rectangle set in the middle of the elongated ellipse of the medieval town plan. It is dominated by the town hall, with a tower 53 m high.

Layout of the square

The spatial layout of Biecz dates from the Middle Ages. The hill dictated the shape of an elongated ellipse, in the middle of which a regular rectangular market square was laid out, with four streets leading off it. Biecz received Magdeburg law in 1257 and became a royal town in 1306.

Town hall and chapel

In the middle of the square stands the town hall, built around 1450 and rebuilt in the 16th century. Its tower is 53 m high, and today the building houses the Town and Municipality Office. In the north-eastern corner of the square stands the chapel of St Florian.

Houses around the square

The square is surrounded by townhouses, most of them two storeys high. The houses once had arcades, but these have not survived. In house no. 20 on the south side there is now a library, and the building was formerly a synagogue. House no. 2, in the south-western part of the square, contains the House of the Robber Becz (Dom zbója Becza). Among the historic buildings of Biecz, sources also list the Barian-Rokicki house from 1523.

Near the square

Right next to it is the Biecz Land Museum, which shows medieval ceramics, guild documents and craftsmen's tools. The defensive walls are also close to the square, with surviving fragments and three bastions: the Kowalska, Rzeźnicka and Radziecka. The memory of the former Jewish community is preserved by the Jewish cemetery, about 600 m from the square.

Practical information

• Location: the centre of Biecz, Gorlice County.
• The square has shops, a pharmacy, a bank, a restaurant and bus stops.
• The town hall is a working office, so check opening hours and any possible visits to the tower with the town office.