Ratusz (Old Town Hall)

The Old Town Hall (Ratusz) stands at the centre of Wroclaw's Market Square. It is a late-Gothic building put up in stages over roughly two and a half centuries, best known for its heavily carved south facade and an astronomical clock dating from 1580. Inside is the Museum of Burgher Art, with the historic Piwnica Swidnicka cellar below. See the Wroclaw guide for the wider city.

It is the single most detailed building on the square and one of the finest surviving Gothic town halls in this part of Europe. You can admire the exterior for free at any hour, then step inside for the museum and the vaulted cellars. The east facade with its old clock is the part most people photograph.

The highlights sit inside and out:

• The ornate south facade, dense with stone carving and figures.
• The astronomical clock on the east side, made of larch wood and dated 1580.
• The Museum of Burgher Art, set in the historic rooms of the hall, which tells the story of the town's citizens and holds temporary exhibitions.
• The Piwnica Swidnicka beer cellar in the vaults below, one of the oldest surviving establishments of its kind in Europe.

Building began in the medieval period and continued in phases, with the richest carving added toward the end of the Gothic era. The hall served as the seat of the town council and its administration for centuries before becoming a museum. It survived the Second World War better than most of the surrounding centre.

Ten minutes to take in the exterior, and about an hour for the museum inside. Add time if you stop in the cellar below.

The facades photograph best in soft morning light or after dark when the square is lit. The museum is quietest on weekday mornings. Check current opening days before you go, as the museum keeps set hours while the square around it never closes.

The hall is in the middle of the Market Square, in the pedestrian Old Town. Trams stop around the edge of the centre, a few minutes away on foot.

The square around the hall is flat but cobbled and uneven underfoot. Inside, the historic rooms and the cellar involve stairs and older floors. Check the museum's access information before visiting.

The hall sits within the Market Square, so the whole Old Town is on the doorstep. Look out for the small bronze Wroclaw dwarfs dotted around the square and its side streets.

Yes. The interior holds the Museum of Burgher Art, which is open to visitors during set hours with an admission charge. The exterior can be seen for free at any time.

It is a historic beer cellar in the vaults beneath the hall, counted among the oldest surviving establishments of its kind in Europe.