Fish Market

Fish Market – A place where fresh fish were traded since the 14th century. St. Dominic’s Fair also had its beginnings here. As early as the 15th century, the market was surrounded by buildings belonging to the Oliva Cistercians, but they did not last long, because the burghers of Gdansk, preparing
to seize the Teutonic Castle, destroyed or
demolished them. Over time, new buildings were erected here – apparently, for merchant Gdansk, the area where business transactions took place was too valuable to be undeveloped. In the direction of Zamczysko, the site of the former Teutonic castle, the so-called Rear Market was built in 1645, and after the Motława waterfront was developed, the Fisherman’s Bridge, or today’s Fisherman’s Wharf, was created. Adjacent to the Fish Market was the Swan Tower (also known as the Fish Tower) – old photographs show how it is blended in with the lower houses and extensions.
The site of the Fish Market marks the border of the Main Town and the Old Town. The Main Town is the part of Gdansk that we recognize today as the most representative. Looking along the Motława River – south of the Fish Market. Historically, the older part of Gdansk, the Old Town, located north of Targ Rybny, lost its primary importance to the developing city to the Main Town as a result of the slaughter of Gdansk in 1308, when city life froze for 20 years. The Old Town, however, later developed, as it were, alongside the thriving Main Town on slightly different rights. Ultimately ruined during World War II, it never regained its historic appearance.