The Cloth Hall, Sukiennice in Polish, is the long Renaissance building that splits Kraków's Main Market Square in two. Merchants have traded under its roof for more than 700 years, and they still do: the ground floor is a covered arcade of souvenir stalls, while upstairs a branch of the National Museum shows 19th-century Polish painting.
The Cloth Hall at a glance
- Where: in the middle of the Main Market Square (Rynek Główny) in Kraków's Old Town.
- Built: stone cloth stalls were promised at the city's founding charter in 1257; the Gothic hall was built under King Casimir the Great before 1358, rebuilt after a fire in 1555 and remodelled in 1875–79.
- By: the 19th-century remodelling, which gave the hall its neo-Gothic arcades, was designed by Tomasz Pryliński.
- What it is today: a market hall with two rows of stalls, the Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art upstairs and the entrance to the Rynek Underground museum.
- Time needed: 15 minutes to walk through, 1–2 hours with the gallery or the underground museum.
From cloth stalls to Renaissance hall
When Prince Bolesław the Chaste granted Kraków its town charter in 1257, he promised to build stone cloth stalls in the square. They formed a double row of booths with a lane in between, closed at both ends at night, and around 1300 the lane was roofed over. Casimir the Great replaced it with a large Gothic hall over 100 metres long before 1358. In the 15th century this was one of the busiest trading halls in Central Europe: spices, silk, leather and wax came in from the east, while Kraków sold textiles, lead and salt from the Wieliczka mine.
In 1555 the hall burned. It was rebuilt in 1556–59 in Renaissance style, and an attic wall decorated with carved grotesque masks was added along the roof, the feature that still defines its outline. By the 19th century the square was cluttered and run down, and in 1875–79, under the Austrian-ruled autonomous government of Galicia, the hall was restored to designs by Tomasz Pryliński. Surrounding stalls were demolished, the arcades along the sides were added, and the upper floor became a museum, which opened on 7 October 1879.
What to look for
- The attic along the roofline with its row of carved masks; on the east side two of the faces are said to be caricatures of the Kraków mayors Józef Dietl and Mikołaj Zyblikiewicz, designed by Jan Matejko.
- The Latin inscriptions over the windows of the western front, quotations from Ovid and Cicero chosen by the historian Józef Szujski.
- The coats of arms of Polish cities and craft guilds painted in 1895 high up in the ground-floor hall above the stalls.
- The old gas lamps under the outer arcades, still in working order.
- Café Noworolski in the arcades, a historic café that has served the square for generations.
- The large knife hanging in the central passage of the hall (see below).
The knife in the passage
Legend says two brothers built the two towers of St Mary's Basilica across the square. When the younger brother's tower grew taller, the elder killed him in jealousy, then threw himself from his own tower in remorse. A large knife hanging in the passage of the Cloth Hall is said to be the murder weapon. It is only a legend, and no record supports it, but the knife is still there and easy to spot.
Tips for your visit
- Walk through the central passage from end to end; it is the shortest way between the two halves of the square and the best way to see the hall inside.
- For the classic view of the full facade, look from the corner near the Town Hall Tower or from the side of St Mary's Basilica.
- Come early in the morning or in the evening; the arcades are calmest before 10 am and look their best under the gas lamps after dark.
- The stalls sell jewellery, handicrafts and souvenirs; walk the whole row and compare before you buy.
Nearby
- St Mary's Basilica: the Gothic church with Veit Stoss's carved altarpiece and the hourly trumpet call, on the east side of the square.
- Town Hall Tower: the only surviving part of the old town hall, standing just south-west of the Cloth Hall.
- Adam Mickiewicz Monument: the statue of Poland's national poet in front of the hall, a classic meeting point.
- Church of St Adalbert: one of the oldest churches in Kraków, a small domed building at the south-east corner of the square that sits below today's street level.
See Kraków with World City Trail
Our Kraków scavenger hunt turns the old town into a game you play on your phone. The route links 11 stops and takes around 3 hours, with about 47 minutes of walking. The Cloth Hall is one of the stops, together with the Town Hall Tower, St Mary's Basilica and St Florian's Gate. You can play in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch and Polish.
If you prefer a different format, Kraków also has a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game.
Play the Kraków scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Kraków →
Play the outdoor escape game in Kraków →
Facts checked in October 2026.