The history of the Sieradz’s Old Town hidden in the former Tatarczy Market Square

Adriana Sowała

doi:10.37190/arc210202

Abstract

The article presents the history of the elements of the former Tatarczy Market Square, which constitute an important part of the history of the Sieradz’s Old Town. The article deals with the history of elements of the Sieradz’s Old Town, such as stockade, gates, street system, the former Dominican Monastery and craft. The history of the Tatarczy Market Square is episodic and unique – it points to necessity to popularize information about this place and continue exploring its story. During the work, the methodology appropriate for historical and interpretative research was used. The information on the spatial development of Sieradz and the history of individual fragments of the Old Town was collected and analyzed. To get to know this story, the available archival references, literature and archaeological research were used. An analysis of these sources allows us to draw conclusions about the history of this part of the city. The article also discusses the role of historical urban spaces and the need and ways of presenting their history by architectural and urban planning activities. For this purpose, the revitalization of the Small Market Square in Bystrzyca Kłodzka and the concept of transforming the Tatarczy Market Square in Sieradz were presented. The amount and value of the information collected on the Tatarczy Market Square proves how important it is to take care of historical spaces, stop negative transformations, explore their secrets and, above all, save them from oblivion. The collected knowledge about the Tatarczy Market Square certainly requires supplementing with archaeological research on a large scale. Nevertheless, it does indicate some directions of research that should be continued. Disseminating the history of the Tatarczy Market Square will allow for a greater understanding of the history of the Old Town in Sieradz. Its inconspicuousness and mystery combined with the number of elements that made up this place make it unique and worth exploring.

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2021

2(66)

DOI: 10.37190/arc210202

Adriana Sowała*

The history of the Sieradz’s Old Town

hidden in the former Tatarczy Market Square

Introduction

Sieradz is one of the oldest cities in Poland and has been

a signicant place in this country since its inception. The

rst mention of it comes from the Gniezno bull of 1136,

where it is referred to as a castellan stronghold. However,

archaeologists conrmed that the rst settlement appeared

at the beginning of the 11

century on the site of the Cas-

tle Hill, which has survived to this day. With time, there

was a development of settlement in the vicinity of the

Dominican Monastery and the Church of All Saints. The

location document has not survived to this day, but there

is a consistent view that the location took place between

1247 and 1255. The layout of the city was determined by

the course of trade routes, at the intersection of which the

market square and the main streets leading from it were

situated [1]. Sieradz was distinguished as the capital of

the Duchy of Sieradz in the period from 1262 to 1339, and

then of the Sieradz Voivodeship in the years 1339–1793.

The Old Town of Sieradz is one of the most important

and best-preserved medieval city complexes in Poland.

It makes up a spatially dened complex that determines

the city’s identity. The visage of the Old Town is present-

ed uniformly through the lines of single-story tenements,

which ll the frontage of the market square and most streets.

This is where the most important monuments of Sie radz

are located.

Some of the historical elements situated in the Old Town

have not survived to this day. One of them is the Tatarczy

Square. It is rarely mentioned in the literature. Moreover,

the fact of its existence is not widespread information.

However, the location within the former fortications at

the foot of the Dominican Hill and the vicinity of one of

the oldest and most important buildings in Sieradz suggest

that this is an area with a long and interesting history that

deserves a special mention.

Objective of the work

The main aim of the article is to present the history of

the elements of the former Tatarczy Square and its sur-

roundings (town fortications and gates, street network,

monastery complex and crafts), which constitute an im-

portant part of the history of the Old Town (Fig. 1). The

multithreaded history of the market and the uniqueness

* ORCID: 0000-0002-1497-088X. Architect, Łódź, e-mail: adriana-

sowala@gmail.com

Fig. 1. Sieradz, bird’s eye view of a fragment of the Old Town

in the region of the former Dominican Monastery.

The dashed line marks the area of the former Tatarczy Square

(by A. Sowała, photo by Ł. Piotrkowski)

Il. 1. Sieradz, widok z lotu ptaka na fragment Starego Miasta

w rejonie klasztoru podominikańskiego.

Linią przerywaną oznaczono teren dawnego Tatarczego Rynku

(oprac. A. Sowała, fot. Ł. Piotrkowski)

18 Adriana Sowała

raphy, it could not be designated for urban development.

As a result, in the mid-16

century, a side market, called

Tatarczy, was established here [2]. The existence of the

square in 1567 was conrmed by Priest Walery Pogorzelski

on the basis of the old parish les that no longer exist [3].

It also appears in the city registers in 1591 and in the data

from the inventory of the city of Sieradz from 1789, where

its location between Dominikańska and Zamkowa Streets

[4] is mentioned. The last mention of the Tatarczy Square

appeared in 1808, along with the Old Market Square.

In study Polityka konserwatorska [Conservation poli-

cy] the authors combine the creation of the Tatarczy Square

with the reconstruction of the north-eastern part of the city

due to the destruction of fortications and the appearance

of new road routes in the 18

century towards Kalisz,

Złoczew and the settlement of Rybaki [5]. Another rea-

son for its creation may be the necessity to create a space

in front of the southern façade of the Dominican church,

which until 1680 had an entrance from the Tatarczy Sqaure,

i.e., from the city side. However, insucient knowledge

of the history of this area and the lack of archaeological

research make it impossible to conrm this [6]. The only

study entirely devoted to the Tatarczy Square is an article by

Ruszkowski, which outlines the state of research, mention-

ing the sources and suggests the reason for the liquidation,

which, according to the author, could be a consequence of

being a nuisance for the neighbouring church, similarly to

the market square next to the Church of All Saints existing

of its elements indicate the need to disseminate this in-

formation. Therefore, the text also touches on the role of

historical urban spaces as well as the need and ways of

presenting their history.

Research method

During the work, the methodology appropriate for his-

torical and interpretative research was used – information

was collected and analyzed on the spatial development of

Sieradz and the history of individual fragments of the Old

Town area, such as city fortications and gates, street net-

work, church and monastery complex and crafts. These

were elements of great importance for the Tatarczy Market

Square. For this purpose, the available archival materials,

the results of archaeological research and the literature on

the subject were used, the analysis of which allowed for

drawing conclusions describing the history of the Tatarczy

Square and its surroundings.

The state of research

In the 13

–14

centuries the town assumed the shape of

an elongated oval, supported from the east by a owing line

of scarps. A headland, known as the Dominican Hill, was

formed on the northern edge (Fig. 2). As a result, between

the back of Grodzka Street, north-eastern Mnichów Street

and the hill a depression was formed. Due to the topog-

Fig. 2. Sieradz, city map in the

century:

1 – Krakowska Gate,

2 – All Saints Church,

3 – Town hall,

4 – Dominican Monastery,

5 – Warcka Gate,

6 – The Church of the Holy Spirit,

8 – Castle,

TR – Tatarczy Square,

B – Błotna Street,

M – Mnichów Street,

Gr – Grodzka Street,

S – Sukiennicza Street,

G – Gołębia Street,

C – Czapnicza Street

(by A. Dunin-Wąsowiczowa,

H. Rutkowski, source: [4])

Il. 2. Sieradz, plan miasta w XV w.:

1 – Brama Krakowska,

2 – Kościół parafialny Wszystkich

Świętych,

3 – Ratusz,

4 – klasztor dominikanów,

5 – Brama Warcka,

6 – kościół św. Ducha, 8 – zamek,

TR – Tatarczy Rynek,

B – ul. Błotna, M – ul. Mnichów,

Gr – ul. Grodzka,

S – ul. Sukiennicza, G – ul. Gołębia,

C – ul. Czapnicza

(wg A. Dunin-Wąsowiczowej

i H. Rutkowskiego, źródło: [4])

The history of the Sieradz’s Old Town hidden in the former Tatarczy Market Square 19

until 1926 [7]. To this day, there is no study presenting the

history of individual elements of the Old Town area in the

context of shaping the area of the former Tatarczy Square.

Although, as mentioned, the area of the Tatarczy Square

has never been archaeologically researched, such activi-

ties have been undertaken in various parts of Sieradz, in-

cluding in the area of the Dominican Monastery [8], Cas-

tle Hill [9] or the Old Market Square [10]. This allowed

us to learn about the history of elements of the Old Town

area, such as waterworks, crafts or the history of the Do-

minican monastery, which inuenced the history of this

part of the city.

Tatarczy Square in the structure of the city

The Tatarczy Square was situated in the north-eastern

part of the Old Town. The topography made it impossi-

ble to create buildings in regularly planned blocks. Apart

from the Mnichów and Grodzka Streets existing since the

century [11], no network of front streets had devel-

oped. The sources mention only the alleys, which were

auxiliary economic communication routes.

Urszula Sowina in her book Sieradz. Układ przestrzen-

ny i społeczeństwo miasta w XV–XVI w. [Sieradz. Spatial

layout and the city’s society in the 15

–16

centuries]

recreated the structure of this part of the city on the basis

of archival materials and historical maps. According to her,

parallel to Mnichów Street was the so-called platea, which

marked the 100-cubit depth of the front plots from Mnichów

Street. It probably extended to the undeveloped area of the

Tatarczy Square. At the beginning of the 16

century, along

the edge of the slope, from Grodzka Street to the north

was

another alley called via penes ortum Michnow ski. At that

time, between that alley and the street (platea), there were

8–9 plots of land. They were shallower than those located

on the southern side of Grodzka Street, because they were

limited by an escarpment from the north. This arrange-

ment is conrmed by the oldest surviving plan of Sieradz

from 1796 [12].

A road ran along the eastern side of the city edge, be-

yond the edge of the escarpment. In the sources, it was de-

scribed as via equitans a monachiis (1507), via qua tran sit

penes claustrum (1510), qua se ducit ad claustrum (1515),

via claustralis (1519), vicus (1525) and vicus ad mo na chos

eundens (1530). Based on the names, it can be conclud-

ed that it reached the monastery as a communication and

economic route from the stronghold. In the north, near

the church, it joined the road that ran around the former

Tatarczy Square from the south and the adjoining bour-

geois plots, and then as a vicus (alley) in the west it met

Mnichów Street. That is why it was called the platea

Mnyska (Mnisza Street, now Dominican Alley) [11].

Fig. 3. Sieradz, street system

in the region of the former

Tatarczy Square, 1489–1537

(elaborated by A. Sowała,

streets: [10])

Il. 3. Sieradz, sieć uliczna

w rejonie Tatarczego Rynku,

1489–1537

(oprac. A. Sowała, rys. ulic: [10])

20 Adriana Sowała

It was not possible to recreate all ownership divisions

in this part of the city. However, it was possible to estab-

lish a division for Mnisza Street, as it was mentioned at

the beginning of the 16

century. It has been proven that

on its northern side, in the immediate vicinity, there were

7 plots, marked in the diagram with a yellow line [11]

(Fig. 3).

The Tatarczy Square probably never had a compact

frontage on the south side (Fig. 3). This could be due to the

topography, irregular division of the plots and the lack of

main streets. This is conrmed by the plans from 1796 [12]

and 1823 [13], which show individual wooden buildings of

the Tatarczy Square and its vicinity. From the side of the

alley, only the backs of the front plots of Grodzka Street

were visible.

In the 20

century, the wooden buildings were replaced

with brick ones, which still stand here today. These are main-

ly one- and two-storey single-family residential buildings.

The current development is chaotic and has no connection

with the spatial arrangement of medieval Sieradz. What’s

more, its architecture does not refer to the former build-

ings or neighbouring monuments. The alley that used to be

the northern extension of Tkaczy Street has not survived.

Former and present-day elements of the spatial

and urban composition of the Tatarczy Square

Water alleys

The topography of medieval Sieradz within the defen-

sive fortications was determined by trade routes. Their

sections became the main streets of the city, and the Old

Market Square was built at their intersection. The second,

equally important factor that inuenced the shape of the

Sieradz street network was water. The need to provide

access to it caused the development of a network of wa-

ter alleys inside the city and its “opening” to the east to-

wards the water. As a result of this, there were as many as

three passages in the defensive fortications, having the

character of a gate in the fence. One of these passages

coincided with the aforementioned passage through the

Tatarczy Square – the so-called Dominican Alley. The

sources mention it as via ducens ad aquam (1489) (Fig. 4),

penes a claustro ad uvium eudente (1508), platea mnys-

ka (1520), via qua itur ad monasterium (1525). The

aforementioned Dominican Alley ran to the east, where it

reached a passage (walwa) through which people walked

to the water (ad uvium, ad aquam). Therefore, it is highly

probable that it was an alley connecting the monastery and

the northern part of the city with the river owing below

the monastery hill [11]. Thanks to the water alleys, the

eastern part of late medieval Sieradz had access to water.

City gate

The spatial layout of the town is known mainly from

the plan drawn up by Prussian cartographers in 1793, dat-

ed August 4, 1796 [12] (Fig. 5). It is the oldest and most

complete plan that has survived and represents the entire

city. You can see the remains of the town fortications,

walls, three gates, moats and embankments erected in the

half of the 14

century, which existed only in a resid-

ual form at the time the plan was created [1].

On the aforementioned plan, you can see that there was

a narrow and winding passage in the fortications in the

vicinity of the Tatarczy Square. It was the so-called city

Fig. 4. Sieradz, view of the Dominican Alley from the west

(photo by A. Sowała, 2019)

Il. 4. Sieradz, widok na Zaułek Dominikański od zachodu

(fot. A. Sowała, 2019)

Fig. 5. Sieradz, city map, 1796; TR – Tatarczy Square

(source: [11])

Il. 5. Sieradz, plan miasta, 1796; TR – Tatarczy Rynek

(źródło: [11])

The history of the Sieradz’s Old Town hidden in the former Tatarczy Market Square 21

“Exhibition portal”

One of the most important buildings in Sieradz, i.e., the

church and monastery complex, is located in the immedi-

ate vicinity of the former Tatarczy Square. The monastery

was built in the years 1233–1245 as one of the oldest Do-

minican temples in Poland. Currently, it belongs to The

Congregation of the Ursulines of the Agonizing Heart of

Jesus. It is worth mentioning that the monks settled only

in developed urban settlements, so Sieradz must have

been well developed and populated. The mendicant orders

were the rst to programmatically and consciously locate

monasteries within the city. Apart from the religious func-

tion, the Dominican church probably brought commercial

prot to the town community by attracting the local po-

pulation [6].

The monastery was situated in an undeveloped area

at the north-eastern end of the town’s Sieradz district at

the exit of Warcka Street. Archaeological research car-

ried out in the 1950s allowed the discovery of relics from

an early medieval settlement and the period of Roman in-

uence here [14]. Dominicans combined their religious

life with evangelization service, which is why they usu-

ally established their convents in cities, most often near

the city gate.

The monastery is accompanied by the Church of St. Sta-

nislaus, the construction of which was completed around

the mid-13

century. The temple is a single-nave building

with a presbytery narrower than the nave. According to the

Dominican rule, there is no tower, only a turret. The north

and west wings of the monastery were erected simultane-

ously with the church. The eastern wing was added in the

century, and the southern one in 1651. The irregular ex

tension of the western wing is a former priorat, which had

been built before the church. Its original size was determined

Fig. 7. Location of the gothic portal

in the former Dominican Monastery

(based on A. Grzybkowski [6, p. 89],

photo by Ł. Piotrkowski, elaborated by A. Sowała)

Il. 7. Lokalizacja gotyckiego portalu

w dawnym klasztorze dominikanów

(na podstawie A. Grzybkowskiego [6, s. 89],

fot. Ł. Piotrkowski, oprac. A. Sowała)

Fig. 6. Localization of fortification, gates and the Fishermans Hamlet:

I – Grodzka Gate, II – Warcka Gate, III – Krakowska Gate,

A, B, C – gates, TR – Tatarczy Square, R – Fishermans Hamlet

(elaborated by A. Sowała,

source: https://mapy.geoportal.gov.pl/)

Il. 6. Sieradz, lokalizacja obwarowań miejskich, bram i furt

oraz osady Rybaki:

I – Brama Grodzka, II – Brama Warcka, III – Brama Krakowska,

A, B, C – furty, TR – Tatarczy Rynek, R – osada Rybaki

(oprac. A. Sowała,

źródło mapy: https://mapy.geoportal.gov.pl/)

gate (furta). It was rather a gate in a fence, because Sie-

radz never had any fortications in the form of walls in

this place. Moreover, the creation of this type of passage

was caused by the destruction of the fortications at the

end of the 16

century. The gate at the Dominican Alley

was used for communication with the Fishermans Hamlet

(Rybaki), which was located at the foot of the escarpment,

south of the church and Dominican Monastery.

Two additional gates also appeared in two other places

– in the western part of the circuit towards the Kalisz road

and in the south-west to the Złoczew route (Fig. 6).

Rybaki is a shing village existing in the 1

half of the

century. It was located below the escarpment at the

foot of the Dominican Hill along Żabia Street (former Wod

na Street) on the Żeglina River. The northern part pro bably

served economic functions for the Dominican farm located

above. Fishermans Hamlet constitutes a coherent spatial

area in the form of houses built on one side with extensive

gardens and elds at the back.

Therefore, the creation of the Tatarczy Square could

have been determined by the road marked out here, result-

ing from the destruction of the fortications. The exist-

ence of a leak in the fortications may suggest that it was

a frequently visited place and an important passage for

people living in the Fishermans Hamlet and heading for

the Dominican monastery.

22 Adriana Sowała

by the basement, which is the only preserved early Gothic

interior in the monastery. From the north of the monastery

you can see the “courtyard” – this is the square surround-

ed by four buildings. The then monastery was surrounded

by gardens on the southern and eastern sides.

Currently, the main entrance to the church is on the west

side (Fig. 7). However, it was originally located on the city

side, i.e., on the southern elevation, the foreground of which

was

formed by the Tatarczy Square. Therefore, the west

façade played a supporting role. This could also have been

caused by the topography that sloped to the east. The Sie-

radz portal is one of the few 12

-century gothic portals in

Poland. The solutions in which the arcade penetrates the

gable triangle are typical of the style of transition between

Romanesque and Gothic. The described portal was walled

up before 1680.

The Tatarczy Square used to be the foreground for the

church and monastery complex. The lack of archaeologi-

cal research and the insucient amount of materials con-

cerning the 13

-century system of Sieradz do not allow

to establish the relationship between the abovementioned

gothic portal with an existing town square, which, accord-

ing to Grzybkowski, would make it possible to call the

entrance a market portal [6] (Fig. 8).

Trade and crafts

The commercial function of Tatarczy Square can be

proved by its name, which derives from tatarka, i.e., buck-

wheat known in Europe since the Middle Ages.

The archival material that can bring us closer to the

history of this part of the city is a sketch from 1849 of the

Plan sytuacyjny pustych placów w Sieradzu [the Situation

plan of empty squares in Sieradz] showing the north-east-

ern part of the city. We do not know its contractor and

scale, but it may provide us with information on the de-

velopment of the area in question. It features a fragmen-

tary view of the Tatarczy Square with wooden buildings

drawn [15]. The above-mentioned drawing was probably

created on the basis of the Plan miasta Sie radza, w gu-

berni Warszawskiej w powiecie Sieradzkim położonego,

zdziełany w 1823, W. Ziółkowski mier(niczy) przy(sięgły)

[Plan of the city of Sieradz, in the Warsaw governorate lo-

cated in the Sieradz poviat made in 1823, author W. Ziół-

kowski], and more precisely its copy from 1859 made by

A.Z. Gustowski in Warsaw [13].

There is also a photo showing the existence of wooden

buildings in this place. This is also conrmed by Priest Wa-

le ry Pogorzelski, mentioning in his book a re of 37 houses

in the Great Suburb and the Tatarczy Square in 1681 [3]

(Fig. 9).

Crafts played an important role in the history of Sie-

radz. Archaeological research has shown that various pro-

fessions were practiced here as early as in the 11

cen tury.

From the mid-14

century onwards, there were referenc-

es to individual craftsmen, and from the middle of the

following century – there are mentions of guilds. At the

beginning of the 2

half of the 16

century, there were

162 crafts men in Sieradz. On the city map, you can spec-

ify streets such as Sukiennicza or Szewska. In the north-

eastern part of the city, in the 15

and 16

centuries, there

was a great variety of professions. On the plots locat-

ed along the monastery’s alley, the existence of houses

for a cook, saddler, cutter and carpenter has been con-

rmed. However, to the houses located at Mnisza Street,

between the Old Market Square and the former Domini-

can monastery, a sword maker, a carpenter, a linen maker,

a cap maker and a bricklayer moved in. A rur mistrz (pipe

master) lived close to the church and monastery complex

[11]. In old Poland, it was a term for a person who was in

charge of municipal water supply. The existence of such

Fig. 9. Sieradz, view of the Tatarczy Square, date unknown

(source: [16])

Il. 9. Sieradz, widok na zabudowę Tatarczego Rynku, data nieznana

(źródło: [16])

Fig. 8. View of the gothic portal (photo by A. Sowała, 2020)

Il. 8. Sieradz, widok na gotycki portal (fot. A. Sowała, 2020)

The history of the Sieradz’s Old Town hidden in the former Tatarczy Market Square 23

a profession indicates that Sieradz must have had such

networks.

The previously mentioned water alleys played a domi-

nant role in the city. They supplied water to many streets,

which from the beginning of the 16

century was a sup-

plement to the market area, where the waterworks func-

tioned. Elements of the modern water supply system were

discovered in 1979 by A. Kufel-Dzierzgowska (in: [10]).

They were also found during archaeological excavations

in 2010 [10].

The eastern part of the city’s land was determined by the

proximity of the Warta River. Due to the water, mills, baths,

bleachers and malt houses are located here. At the turn of

the Middle Ages and early modern times, there were at

least ve water mills east of the town: słodowy, wójtowski,

kołowski, mączny and in Błonia. Most of the mills in Sieradz

were powered by młynówka. At the wój tow ski mill house

in Porzecze, south of the Grodzka Street, there were, apart

from the mill and baths, blech and

mielcuch. In this way,

until the 2

half of the 16

century, the most important

devices operating on the basis of water were concentrat-

ed in the town basin. The młynówka wójtowska together

with the neighbouring devices served the city – water was

drawn from it, carrying it or transporting it through a wa-

ter alley, and also pulling it through pipes along Grodzka

Street to the Old Market Square [11]. On the other hand,

the słodowy mill served the town. It was not advisable to

dig wells in townspeople’s plots due to the proximity of

the cemetery [11]. Such an observation may also lead to

the assumption that water was used not only for domestic

purposes, but also for production purposes.

Secondary markets as added value

to the history of medieval cities

The existence of the second, next to the rectangular

market square, less regular market square in Sieradz is an

interesting case, but not an isolated one. The presence of

such squares is always an added value for the city. Re-

covering historical spaces allows to create places that will

convey the history of the city to residents and tourists in

an attractive and legible way. They will also enrich it with

an atmospheric and unique space. In the area of the former

Tatarczy Square, this story has not yet found its reec-

tion. It is probably due to signicant transformations. In

the area of the former Sieradz Land, the author has not

noted any examples showing the recovery of this type of

historical space. However, the eect of revitalizing the

secondary market in a small town can be seen in Bystrzy-

ca Kłodzka.

Bystrzyca Kłodzka is located in the southern part of

Kłodzko Land, on the former trade routes, e.g., on the

main route from Silesia to the Czech Republic. It was es-

tablished in a defensive place, captured by the forks of the

Nysa Kłodzka River and its left tributary, the Bystrzyca

River. The Old Town has the shape of an oval with a check-

erboard-cross urban layout, which was shaped in the 13

century. There are two adjacent markets here – the main

square (now Wolności Square) with the town hall and the

secondary market, the former cattle market (now Small

Market Square) [17]. The Small Market Square is an ir-

regularly shaped square with three narrow streets leading

to it. The secondary square market of Bystrzyca Kłodzka

is surrounded by dense frontages of classicist buildings

from the end of the 18

and beginning of the 19

centu-

ry, which are characterized by harmonious, symmetrical

façades with straight lines, with details in the form of por-

ticoes with a tympanum, as well as sparse ornamentation.

On the north-eastern frontage of the Small Market, there

is a complex of the Evangelical Church, which was de-

signed by architect Karl Friedrich Schnikel. The complex

of buildings consisted of a church and a school, which

were built in the years 1821–1823. Originally, a curtain

wall with a gate stood between them. In 1978, a new part

of the building was erected between the church and the

school. At present, there is the Philumenist Museum [18].

In the central part of the Small Market there is a historic

pillory, i.e., a punishment tool from 1556. Originally it was

located in the Old Market Square, in 1813 it was moved to

its present location.

In Bystrzyca Kłodzka, this historic side market was re-

vitalized in 2019. The aim of the project was to restore the

representative function of the Small Market Square and

give it spatial order by arranging communication routes.

As part of the project, a passage was created that will al-

low residents and tourists to enter the old town market

directly. As a result of the revitalization, the surface of the

square was rebuilt, greenery was planted, street furniture

was erected and the aesthetic fence around the historic pil-

lory was restored [19].

Architectural and urban concept

for the reconstruction

of the Tatarczy Market Square in Sieradz

The former area of the Tatarczy Square has great po-

tential to create a place that, with the help of appropriate

measures, will be able to present the history of the Old

Town in this area. So far, no such proposal has been made.

This inspired the author of the article to create an architec-

tural and urban concept that, as one of the possible solu-

tions, could serve this purpose

The main goal of the project was to convey the rich his-

tory of this place in an attractive and legible way. Due to

signicant transformations over the years, which made it

impossible to freely develop this area, it was proposed to

remove the existing buildings from the former area of the

Tatarczy Square. Taking such a step allowed for the cre-

ation of a full-size square with an irregular shape, at the

end of which a building was situated. The design refers

to the old wooden buildings by using the same materials

(Fig. 10). The designed pavilion has a commercial function

that refers to the history and name of the place. Along the

former Mniszy Alley (now Dominican Alley) fountains

It was part of the Master’s thesis entitled Rehabilitacja frag men -

tu Starego Miasta w Sieradzu w rejonie dawnego Klasztoru Do mi ni ka-

nów [Rehabilitation of a fragment of the Old Town in Sieradz in the area

of the former Dominican Monastery] written at the Lodz Uni versity of

Technology under the supervision of dr. inż. arch. Maria Dan kowska.

24 Adriana Sowała

were planned, the arrangement of which emphasizes the

trail to the former passage in the walls to the Fishermans

Hamlet. They are also to remind the important role of wa-

ter in the crafts and shaping the street network of Sieradz.

Appropriate design of the square allowed for the church

and monastery complex adjacent to the north, which is

currently obscured by the existing buildings, to become

a part of this place again. However, in the place leading

to the gothic portal, located on the southern wall of the

church, it was proposed to break the wall marking the

northern border of the market square and emphasize it

with two pylons.

The former Tatarczy Square was located in a depres-

sion between the elevations of the terrain, which deter-

mined its shape. It probably never had the full southern

frontage due to the lack of a front street in this place. The

Fig. 11. Plan of

the Tatarczy Square

(2020, elaborated by A. Sowała)

Il. 11. Plan projektowanego

Tatarczego Rynku

(2020, oprac. A. Sowała)

Fig. 10. Visualization of

the Tatarczy Square

(2020, elaborated by A. Sowała)

Il. 10. Wizualizacja projektowanego

Tatarczego Rynku

(2020, oprac. A. Sowała)

for mer Mniszy Alley (now Dominican Alley) bordered the

back of the plots from Szewska Street. In connection with

the above, the concept emphasizes the border of Zaułek

Dominikański with new buildings that form the southern

frontage of the square and consist of buildings whose di-

mensions correspond to a typical Sieradz tenement house.

The proposed new complex of buildings was divided by

means of pedestrian paths, which are to remind of the his-

torical passages leading to the water, the so-called alleys

(Fig. 11).

Summary

The current development of Dominican Alley does not

allow for clear identication with the former function of

the square. This unique place has disappeared from the

The history of the Sieradz’s Old Town hidden in the former Tatarczy Market Square 25

References

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2016–2021. Załącznik nr 1 do Uchwały nr XXIX/244/16 Rady

Miej skiej w Bystrzycy Kłodzkiej z dnia 7 września 2016 roku, http://

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dok=7647&idmp=0&r= [accessed: 15.03.2021].

contemporary maps of Sieradz and nowadays few people

know about its existence. However, the analysis of archi-

val materials, archaeological research and literature on the

subject helps to determine the details of its origin, location,

function, development or connection with the environment.

What’s more, one place allows us to accumulate the history

of so many elements of the Old Town at the same time. The

existence of city gates, the Fishermans Hamlet, passages to

the water or the gothic portal are unusual and not dissem-

inated information that will certainly gain the recognition

of more demanding discoverers of the secrets of Sieradz.

The amount and value of the collected information on the

Tatarczy Square proves the importance of the role it played

in the city and how important is to take care of histo rical

spaces, stop negative transformations, explore their secrets

and, above all, save them from oblivion. The knowledge

gathered about the Tatarczy Square certainly needs to be

supplemented with large-scale archaeological research.

Nevertheless, it does set some directions that should be

followed.

Disseminating the history of the Tatarczy Square will

allow for a greater understanding of the history of the Old

Town in Sieradz. Its inconspicuousness and mystery com-

bined with the number of elements that made up this place

make it unique and worth exploring further.

Translated by

Adriana Sowała

Abstract

The history of the Sieradz’s Old Town hidden in the former Tatarczy Market Square

The article presents the history of the elements of the former Tatarczy Market Square, which constitute an important part of the history of the

Sieradz’s Old Town. The article deals with the history of elements of the Sieradz’s Old Town, such as stockade, gates, street system, the former

Dominican Monastery and craft. The history of the Tatarczy Market Square is episodic and unique – it points to necessity to popularize information

about this place and continue exploring its story.

During the work, the methodology appropriate for historical and interpretative research was used. The information on the spatial development

of Sieradz and the history of individual fragments of the Old Town was collected and analyzed. To get to know this story, the available archival

references, literature and archaeological research were used. An analysis of these sources allows us to draw conclusions about the history of this part

of the city.

26 Adriana Sowała

The article also discusses the role of historical urban spaces and the need and ways of presenting their history by architectural and urban planning

activities. For this purpose, the revitalization of the Small Market Square in Bystrzyca Kłodzka and the concept of transforming the Tatarczy Market

Square in Sieradz were presented.

The amount and value of the information collected on the Tatarczy Market Square proves how important it is to take care of historical spaces,

stop negative transformations, explore their secrets and, above all, save them from oblivion. The collected knowledge about the Tatarczy Market

Square certainly requires supplementing with archaeological research on a large scale. Nevertheless, it does indicate some directions of research that

should be continued. Disseminating the history of the Tatarczy Market Square will allow for a greater understanding of the history of the Old Town

in Sieradz. Its inconspicuousness and mystery combined with the number of elements that made up this place make it unique and worth exploring.

Key words: Tatarczy Market Square, Sieradz, Sieradz’s Old Town, urban planning, architecture

Streszczenie

Historia Starego Miasta w Sieradzu ukryta w obszarze dawnego Tatarczego Rynku

W artykule przedstawiono historię elementów dawnego Tatarczego Rynku w Sieradzu, które stanowią istotną część dziejów Starego Miasta.

W tekście zarysowano dzieje obwarowań miejskich i bramy, sieci ulicznej, zespołu kościelno-klasztornego oraz rzemiosła. Wielowątkowość historii

rynku oraz unikatowość jego elementów wskazuje na potrzebę rozpowszechniania tych informacji i dalszego zgłębiania dziejów Tatarczego Rynku.

W trakcie pracy posłużono się metodologią właściwą dla badań historyczno-interpretacyjnych – zebrano i zanalizowano informacje na temat

rozwoju przestrzennego Sieradza oraz historii poszczególnych fragmentów obszaru staromiejskiego. W tym celu wykorzystano dostępne materiały

archiwalne, wyniki badań archeologicznych oraz literaturę przedmiotu, których analiza pozwoliła na wysnucie wniosków przybliżających historię

tej części miasta.

W artykule poruszono także kwestię roli historycznych przestrzeni miejskich oraz potrzebę i sposoby przybliżenia ich historii za pomocą działań

architektoniczno-urbanistycznych. W tym celu przestawiono efekt rewitalizacji Małego Rynku w Bystrzycy Kłodzkiej oraz koncepcję przekształce-

nia Tatarczego Rynku w Sieradzu.

Ilość i wartość zebranych informacji na temat Tatarczego Rynku udowadniają, jak ważne jest dążenie do zadbania o historyczne przestrzenie,

powstrzymanie negatywnych przekształceń, poznanie ich tajemnic, a przede wszystkim ocalenie ich od zapomnienia. Zebrana wiedza na temat

Tatarczego Rynku z pewnością wymaga uzupełnienia o badania archeologiczne na szeroką skalę. Niemniej jednak wyznacza pewne kierunki, w które

należałoby się zwrócić. Upowszechnianie dziejów Tatarczego Rynku pozwoli na większe zrozumienie historii Starego Miasta w Sieradzu. Jego nie-

pozorność i tajemniczość połączona z liczbą elementów, które tworzyły to miejsce, czyni je wyjątkowym i wartym dalszego odkrywania.

Słowa kluczowe: Tatarczy Rynek, Sieradz, Stare Miasto, urbanistyka, architektura