Bolesław Chrobry Square

Bolesław Chrobry Square is a medieval market square in the centre of Kłodzko, shaped on a roughly rectangular plan measuring about 100 by 60 metres.

Shape and terrain

A characteristic feature of the square is a pronounced slope in the terrain, visible especially along its shorter sides. Eight streets radiate from the four corners, two from each corner.

Buildings on the square

The square's central feature is the town hall, next to which, on the western side, stands a Marian column erected in 1680 by Jan Adam Beyerhoffer as a votive offering against the plague. In front of the town hall's north-eastern corner stands a town well from the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, with a shell-shaped basin supported on four dolphins. Among the tenement houses, the Baroque house at no. 5, "Pod Jeleniem" (Under the Deer), stands out with a deer sculpture in a niche on the ground floor, as does house no. 13 with the former "Pod Murzynkiem" pharmacy and the Renaissance house no. 32 with vaulted interiors.

History

The square probably came into being even before the town's formal founding, on the trade route from Prague to Wrocław. Its shaping within the present boundaries took place in 1253-1274, after the town was granted German town law.

Nearby

Right by the square runs the Underground Tourist Route in Kłodzko, and a few hundred metres further stands Kłodzko Fortress. Also close by are the Museum of the Kłodzko Land and the Franciscan monastery complex.

Practical information

• Address: centre of Kłodzko, the square by the town hall
• Getting there: on foot, in the very centre of Kłodzko
• What to expect: a historic square with a sloping terrain, tenement houses and a well, a starting point for exploring the Old Town