The Cloth Hall is a Renaissance arcade sitting in the dead centre of Europe's largest medieval square, and it's been operating as a marketplace since the 14th century — which arguably makes it the world's oldest shopping mall, though the comparison does it a disservice. The current building dates from a 1555 reconstruction after a fire, and its arched loggias, grotesque masks, and decorative parapets are a masterclass in Polish Renaissance style.
The ground floor is still a market, though the cloth merchants who gave it its name have been replaced by stalls selling amber jewellery, wooden chess sets, embroidered tablecloths, and leather goods. The quality varies, but the experience of buying souvenirs inside a 500-year-old trading hall beats any shopping mall. Haggling is not traditional here — the prices are the prices — but the vendors are friendly and most speak enough English to guide you through the amber grades.
The upper floor, reached by a staircase at the eastern end, houses a branch of the National Museum — the Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art. The collection includes some of Poland's most important paintings, including Józef Chełmoński's 'Four-in-Hand' and Henryk Siemiradzki's enormous 'Nero's Torches.' The gallery is uncrowded, reasonably priced, and offers views of the square from the upper arcade windows that alone justify the climb.
Verified Facts
The Cloth Hall has been a marketplace since the 14th century
The current Renaissance building dates from a 1555 reconstruction
The upper floor houses the Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art
The hall sits in the centre of Rynek Główny, Europe's largest medieval square
Get walking directions
Rynek Główny 1/3, Kraków
