Long Market Square, Gdansk (must see)

The Long Market functions less as a square and more as a broad historic street lined with elaborate façades. Passing through the arches of the Green Gate, visitors enter a space that once served as the final stage of the Royal Route, where Polish monarchs made ceremonial entrances into the city beginning in the 16th century. Today, cafés, amber shops, restaurants, and seasonal markets fill the area with activity.

Many of the buildings seen today were carefully reconstructed after World War II, following their original Renaissance and Dutch-Flemish Mannerist designs. Wealthy merchants once combined business and residence here. The market was also a stage for public life in all its forms. Royal banquets, processions, and civic ceremonies took place here, while public punishments and executions were also carried out in earlier centuries.

Walking from the Green Gate into Long Market, not far beyond the entrance, the English House appears on the right-hand side. It is easy to recognize by its tall, narrow proportions and richly layered façade, which rises higher than many neighboring buildings. On the left-hand side near numbers 14–16, visitors may notice the Fahrenheit Thermometer marker near the Abegg House, a small reference to physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, who was born in Gdańsk in 1686.

The former Town Pharmacy sits at the intersection with Kuśnierska Street, on the same side as the English House. Continue toward the Long Street, near the approach to the Town Hall. Here, the richly decorated Golden House stands out clearly from surrounding façades. Built in the early 17th century, it is distinguished by sculpted figures, decorative reliefs, and gilded details across the front elevation. Its ornamentation makes it one of the easiest buildings to identify along the square, especially when sunlight highlights the pale stone carvings.