The Old Town Market Square

The market square in front of Schwerin's town hall and the butcher's market are not only connected by an archway. History also brings out connections. The first ground plan of today's Old Town Market can be found in 1651 - after almost 500 years of the city's history. Everything must have started with a kind of street market - an elongated area of about 20 by 60 meters.

In the Middle Ages, small craftsmen and others bustled around the marketplace. They produced in their stalls, and sales took place in front of them. Other traders - such as butchers, bakers or fishermen - offered their goods from covered stalls. The corresponding corner of the market was named after their trade - this already shows the first connection to the butcher's market. At that time, foreigners were only allowed to offer their goods on certain special market days.
Henry the Lion wanted to establish Schwerin as a trading metropolis as early in the 13th century, but attempts to enlarge the market for this purpose failed. What's more, many Schwerin merchants relocated to Wismar during this period, and Schwerin's status as a long-distance trading center withered away - and with it its marketplace. Because the population was also growing rapidly, the stalls on the market square were converted into living space and the sale of goods moved into the houses. Narrow, multi-storey buildings were erected close together, without any courtyard or garden. Only small alleys separated the rows of houses.

The town hall, however, used to stand free. Its walls date back to 1567, and the adjoining houses were built later. In general, the market and the town hall changed again and again - especially after the city of Schwerin fell victim to its greatest fire catastrophe in 1651. The town hall and the 15 houses around the market collapsed. However, the wall with the pointed-arched passageway in the east side of the town hall has been preserved.
With new plans for the city, the market was finally to become larger and overall it shifted a little to the northwest due to extensions. In 1654, the town hall was also rebuilt, was also extended over the centuries and was finally clad with a new facade by master builder Georg Adolph Demmler in the 19th century. As he also redesigned the surrounding building facades, the cohesive image of a classic 19th century market finally emerged.

The traders, however, were no longer to be found there at that time, because the order-loving Duke Friedrich put an end to the open-air market hustle and bustle earlier: he bought up four plots of land on the north side of the market as early as the 18th century, had the houses demolished and built a representative department stores' there. Court building director Johann Joachim Busch used the rear area of the fallow plots for the closed part - from then on groceries, especially meat, sausage and bread, were sold here. At the front, Busch added an open portico. Meticulous care was taken not to interfere with the visual axis to Schwerin Cathedral - consecrated in 1171. What we now call the „Säulengebäude“ was initially called the „Krambuden-Haus“ when it was built - after all, the former Krambuden found their new place there. At first, the miller Pingel and the merchant Hennings were housed here, at the beginning of the 20th century even the police station, then a travel agency and until 1965 the city archives.

Today, for example, the Old Town Market is the starting point of many city tours and a place to stop for a nice piece of cake or a cup of coffee in the neighbouring gastronomic establishments. There is still a lot of hustle and bustle, for example every Wednesday at the weekly market or at various theme markets. The Christmas market in winter exudes a special flair. But the square is also a literal focal point for sporting events: the athletes of the Schwerin Night Run finish here.
You should also take a look at the statue of "Henry the Lion", which has adorned the market square since 1995. You can discover its history in a special audio play. It is also worth strolling through the archway to the butcher's market and listening to interesting facts about it and the fountain statue „Herr'n Pastor si'n Kau“.