Szczecin's Old Town is a reconstruction. The original medieval and Baroque city was devastated by Allied bombing in 1944 — 65% of buildings were destroyed — and the rebuilding that followed in the communist era prioritised practicality over historical accuracy. What exists today is a mix: some authentic surviving buildings, some postwar reconstruction, and some entirely new construction in a vaguely historical style.
Despite this complicated history, the Old Town is worth exploring. The castle dominates the hill at one end, the Gothic St. Peter and Paul Church survives in modified form, and the reconstructed town hall at the market square gives the area a sense of civic identity. The narrow streets between the castle and the Oder have a pleasant, human scale even if the buildings are younger than they look. The area around Aviators' Square functions as the modern city centre, with cafes, shops, and the Galeria Kaskada shopping centre alongside older buildings.