Market Square in Katowice

One could easily be forgiven for standing in the middle of the Rynek (Market square) and trying to find the Rynek (Market square). Simply put, it’s not your typical idea of a Polish market square. What’s today little more than a tram stop selling flowers started life in the mid-19th century as Marktplatz, on the road between Myslowice and Chorzow.

The sight of a multitude of spectacular events in its time, the Rynek has played host to Johann Strauss in 1850, seen the city’s first electric trams trundling through in 1898, watched as the Red Army marched through a city on fire in 1945 and, most recently, become a place to access free wireless internet. Dogged by a ragged collection of mis-matched buildings and no cohesion whatsoever, the partially cobbled Rynek has plans to reinvent itself and become more of a hub for social life in the near future.

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