Unknown Wrocław: Market Hall from the backyard

Gem of architecture

The Market Hall (Hala Targowa) was designed by Richard Plüdemann at the end of 1905 and at the beginning of 1906 and erected in the years 1908-1909. It was built in place of the former Sand Arsenal (Arsenał Piaskowy); stones from its walls are embedded in the northern facade of the hall.

Since the beginning, the hall has been recognised as a very modern building. Its construction was supported on reinforced concrete arches, which were rarely used at that time. This ensured the high strength of the building. Its structure is based on a reinforced concrete skeleton and brick walls. The building consists of 3 longitudinal aisles, and inside there is a mezzanine. From the side of ul. Św. Ducha and Piaskowa, a 1-metre high granite pedestal was erected. The external facade is partly made of bricks, and its southern side is covered with plaster. Window frames are made of steel. The building has two towers and a clock.

Monuments have survived the war

Many architectural elements of the buildings were inscribed on the list of historical monuments – from main portals made of sandstone in Art Nouveau style, reliefs, the city emblem and clocks to balustrades, stairs or even grates of meat stalls, which were also made in Art Nouveau style.

We can watch them, because the hall at ul. Piaskowa was affected much less heavily by wartime operations than a similar construction at ul. Kolejowa was. After the war, trade was resumed in the Market Hall already in 1948. Later, the hall was renovated thoroughly by its administrator – Społem PSS Północ – in 1983.

Work starts already before dawn

The day in the Market Hall begins already before dawn. Fresh meat and flowers often arrive even at 3 a.m. In the basement of the hall, goods lifts start to run and there are storerooms and a special room for partitioning and processing of meat. It is used only by those who sell meat, including smoked meats. It is the place where butchers take apart, for instance, delivered porkhalves, divide fresh pork shoulders and loins and cut meat for ham – all of this to ensure that the customer always gets fresh and best meat in the stall. “Indeed, meat is always fresh here, and queues for it are long. I do the shopping in this hall at least three times a week”, says Zbigniew Włoszyński, an inhabitant of Wrocław.

Customers come to the hall not only to buy meat. Many of them buy flowers, fruit, fresh vegetables and food products. You can also always meet there a crowd of tourists who do the shopping, take photographs and admire architecture.

At the foot of the clock

However, we choose to see the place where customers and tourists do not go. Our guide is Eugeniusz Chmielewski, the manager of the Market Hall for many years. We have already seen the storerooms at the bottom, so now it is time to go upwards. We begin from the higher tower with clocks. It can be entered through the hidden door on the first floor of the hall, and then we have to climb winding metal stairs. Hardly anyone goes there, and the room in which we are behind the dial-plates of the clock is really unusual. We climb the narrow stairs to go out onto the roof, where we can see accurately rows of windows in metal framings and monuments around the hall. From the top of the building, we can admire a beautiful view of the Piaskowy Bridge (Most Piaskowy), the building of the Polish philology department of the University of Wrocław at the Pl. Nankiera square and the Greek-Catholic Cathedral of St Vincent and St James.

In the lower tower there is less space, because a ventilation system is situated inside it. Huge machines pump the air. On the roof from that side, we can watch the panorama on the side of ul. Świętego Ducha. On the way, the hall manager shows us German goods lifts, and we can also see reinforced concrete pillars from a close range. Finally, we return to the ground floor of the hall – its heart with a sunny, colourful, noisy and fragrant atmosphere.

Historical descriptions based on the website: www.halatargowa.wroclaw.pl