Town Hall

A short walk south of the castle will bring you to the 15th-century Gothic Town Hall, one of the finest buildings in the city. This is the only relic of the Old Town, having miraculously survived the near-total destruction of the district in WWII.

Szczecin never enjoyed the meticulous postwar reconstruction of other Polish cities, but the Old Town is finally being pieced back together: an attractive line of stylised burghers' houses has been constructed right behind the town hall, in striking contrast to the unbecoming communist-era blocks opposite. As the renewal inches along, the area has started to fill with fashionable cafés and upscale bars. The day the market square in front of the town hall ceases to be an open-air car park, you'll know the Old Town has finally (re)arrived.