Town Square sights in Europe
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Place St-Nicolas
Bastia's buzzing focal point is the 19th-century square of place St-Nicolas, which sprawls along the seafront between the ferry port and the harbour. Named after the patron saint of sailors – a nod to Corsica's seagoing heritage – the square is lined with plane trees and a string of attractive terrace cafés along its western edge, as well as a statue of Napoléon Bonaparte.
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Koloman-Wallisch-Platz
The Rathaus on the town square has an attractive arcaded courtyard, whereas the Kornmesserhaus (1499) brings together Gothic and some Renaissance features and was based on the design of a Venetian palace. Other historic highlights on the square include the art-nouveau facade above the ice-cream shop at No 10 and the fine Renaissance-style wrought-iron well created by Hans Prasser in 1626. Twice weekly, a food and flower market takes place on the main square.
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Hauptplatz
Dating from the 13th century, this long, rectangular square has a Pestsäule (Plague Column; 1717); at the northern end is a fountain from 1794 with an angel holding the town’s heraldic shield, and at the opposite end is a fountain dedicated to miners (1799). Many of the elegant facades lining the square were created in the 17th century, including the baroque Hacklhaus from 1660. Leoben’s connection with the iron industry is seen in the curious town motif displayed on the Altes Rathaus facade, which shows an ostrich eating horseshoes.
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Hauptplatz
The large town square is flanked by the Rathaus, which is something of a hybrid in styles. It began life as a Gothic building, was given some Renaissance flourishes from the late 16th century, and then when imitations came into vogue from the early 19th century a neo-Gothic spire was tacked onto it. In the centre of the square is the Mariensäule (Column of Mary) from 1678.
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Hauptplatz
The centrepiece of St Veit’s Hauptplatz at No 1 is the Rathaus; its baroque stuccowork was pasted onto the building in 1754 and features a double-headed eagle on the pediment with St Veit (the saint, not the town) standing between the eagle’s wings. After walking through the Gothic vaulted passage you arrive at an arcaded courtyard bedecked with sgraffito (a mural or decoration in which the top layer is scratched off to reveal the original underneath).
Hauptplatz itself has a fountain at both ends and a central column erected in 1715 as a memorial to plague victims. The northeastern fountain, the Schüsselbrunnen, is surmounted by a bronze statue, created in 1566. This…
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