Market Square (Rynek)

Boleslawiec's central square is a handsome space surrounded by reconstructed baroque and neoclassical buildings in ochre, pink, and cream. A fountain and a few outdoor cafes make it a pleasant place to sit, particularly in summer when the square fills with market stalls selling pottery, crafts, and local produce.

The Rathaus (town hall) at the centre of the square is worth looking at for its architecture. The square functions as the main social hub of the town and is the best place to orient yourself before exploring the surrounding streets and the medieval wall remnants that can still be found to the north.

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A story
Much of Boleslawiec's old town was destroyed in the final months of World War Two, when the Soviet advance forced intense fighting in Lower Silesia. The pastel-coloured buildings around the square today were largely rebuilt in the 1950s and 1960s, when the town was repopulated by Poles who had themselves been expelled from what is now western Ukraine — a mass displacement that affected millions of people but is little known outside Central Europe.

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