The Salt Market Square or Salt Square ( ; , 827–1945) is a medieval

market square A market square (also known as a market place) is an urban square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world. A market square is an open area where market stalls are tradit ...

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. It is one of the three historic market squares in the city's old town, next to the

Market Square A market square (also known as a market place) is an urban square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world. A market square is an open area where market stalls are tradit ...

and the New Market Square. It is located in the city center, on the southwestern corner of the Market Square.

History

The market square was established around the year 1241, at the time of the city's renewed establishment after the Mongol invasion. Due to the valuable importance of salt at the time, it was named after the product. In 1827, a monument to Field Marshal Blücher was constructed on the square, causing it to be renamed . After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the original name of the square was restored and the monument was demolished. In 1996, a needle-like monument called 'Small

Iglica ''Iglica'' (; "spire" or "needle") is a needle-like monument in Wrocław, Poland. It was built in 1948 and was 106 metres tall. Today, after renovation, the top ten metres have been removed and it is now 90 metres tall. History This structure wa ...

' (), designed by Adam Wyspiański, was built where the Blücher monument once stood. During World War II, most of the 19th-century tenements on the square were either destroyed or badly damaged, and were rebuilt in 1960 and 1961, mostly in a

neo-Baroque Neo-Baroque may refer to: * Neo-Baroque music * Neo-Baroque painting, a painting style used by Christo Coetzee and others *Baroque Revival architecture * Neo-Baroque film *the Organ reform movement The Organ Reform Movement or ''Orgelbewegung'' ...

style. In 1996, the square was re-paved and re-lit. Today, the square is home to a flower market.

References

Squares in Wrocław Market squares in Poland {{LowerSilesian-geo-stub