Plac Nowy & The Okrąglak Rotunda: Flea Markets and Zapiekanki

Why is it significant?

Take in the lively commotion of Plac Nowy, the pulsing social crossroads of modern Kazimierz. At the center of this cobblestone square stands the Okrąglak, a charming dodecagonal brick market rotunda built in 1900.

Key Facts

Open the walk

Take in the lively commotion of Plac Nowy, the pulsing social crossroads of modern Kazimierz. At the center of this cobblestone square stands the Okrąglak, a charming dodecagonal brick market rotunda built in 1900. Surrounding the building, open-air stalls overflow with antique brass candlesticks, vintage vinyl records, old postcards, and fresh farm produce. The air is thick with the mouth-watering scent of melted Gouda, fried mushrooms, and warm baguettes, issuing from dozens of hatch windows built into the rotunda wall.

The Okrąglak was originally erected by municipal authorities as a modern, hygienic ritual poultry slaughterhouse for the Jewish community. For decades before the war, local housewives brought chickens and geese to be inspected and koshered by licensed rabbinical shochets. After the Second World War, the municipal butchers were replaced by traders, and in the 1990s, the rotunda underwent a culinary metamorphosis. Today, it is the uncontested world capital of the zapiekanka — Poland's beloved toasted open-faced baguette topped with sauteed forest mushrooms, cheese, and zesty ketchup.

Look closely at the bohemian cafes and bars that frame the square, with names like Singer, Alchemia, and Mleczarnia. In Cafe Singer, old pedal-driven sewing machine tables serve as dining furniture, illuminated solely by dripping candle wax and amber glass lamps. These bohemian salons spearheaded the cultural resurrection of Kazimierz in the late 1990s, transforming forgotten alleyways into Europe's hippest arts hub. Writers, musicians, filmmakers, and university students debate long into the night over glasses of cold craft ale and herbal vodka.

Beneath this vibrant modern nightlife lies the deep memory of the marketplace established in the seventeenth century as the New Square. Generations of Jewish tailors, bookbinders, and cobblers raised their families in the modest residential tenements that ring the perimeter. On Sunday mornings, the square hosts a bustling antique market where old Judaica, pre-war family photographs, and vintage watches change hands. Past and present coexist here in rare, unscripted everyday harmony.

Exit the square by following Warszauera Street toward the east. Just ahead stands the fortress-like stone entrance of the Izaak Synagogue, the largest and most grandly proportioned historic sanctuary in Kazimierz.