Walk in Poznań: Market Sqaure and around

Poznań is chiefly famous for two mechanical fighting goats butting each other's horns every day as the clock on the City Hall tower strikes noon. But it's not the only reason why the Market Square is worth visiting. Find out what other attractions can be found in the area.

Old Market Square, Poznań / Shutterstock

Old Market Square

It is square-shaped and each side is 140m long. A net of intersecting perpendicular streets leads there. The Market Square period houses were reconstructed after World War II in Renaissance and Baroque styles. The main Market Square building is Renaissance City Hall. When its tower clock strikes midday, two metal goats appear and butt heads 12 times.

On the south side of City Hall there are the Clearing Forests Men's Houses (Domki Budnicze), with characteristic arcades which are remains of the merchant houses. Their present look is a result of post-war reconstruction.

In the immediate vicinity of City Hall there is also a Guardroom (seat of municipal watch) a Classical building erected in 18th century where a wooden one once stood. Today it houses the Museum of Great Poland's Uprising.

In the four corners of the Old Market Square there are four fountains which represent Proserpina, Apollo, Neptune and Mars. They were erected in places of wells dismantled in the 19th century. Proserpina's Well is Rococo-styled and comes from the 18th century, the other three were installed between 2002 and 2005. In the pavilions in the southern part of the square there is Great Poland's Military Museum. Behind the Clearing Forests Men's Houses there is a copy of a 16th century whipping post, with a statue of the executioner with a sword in his hand. There is also a well with a statue of Bamberg Girl, founded at the beginning of 20th century and a Baroque statue of St John of Nepomuk, supposed to protect the city from flooding.