The Rynek is one of the largest market squares in Europe — roughly 213 by 175 metres — and the symbolic heart of Wrocław. Established in the 13th century when the town was reorganised on Germanic law, the square is rimmed by colourful gabled townhouses in late Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque styles, almost all of them painstakingly rebuilt after Soviet shelling in 1945.
The Gothic Town Hall stands in the middle, with a sprawl of restaurants and pavement cafés all around. Two smaller squares — Plac Solny (the salt market) to the south-west and the small intimate Plac Św. Macieja — open off the corners. On warm evenings the entire square fills with people; in winter the Christmas market here is one of the best in Poland.