Zinar Castle

70 meters, 110 stone stairs, Katowice's cellars and 700 years on the Main Square - this is the town hall tower, the only remnant of the first seat of the city authorities.

The town hall tower is the only remnant of the town hall that was already built here around 1300. In the 15th century, the seat of the Krakow authorities reached the height of ul. Szewska, with the adjoining tower symbolizing the city's power and prestige. It was here that the mayor was in office, councilors met, here operated: a juror's court, a chancellery, an archive, and a granary. On the ground floor of the Gothic tower, there was a city treasury.

The basement of the tower housed two completely different shrines. One of them was the famous Świdnicka Cellar, where numerous types of beer and wine were served. Its name comes from the name of the delicious Silesian beer, popular among townspeople, imported from Świdnica. With time, the place became a meeting place for the dark-star types, and the "evil white-headed" lurked visitors were waiting here, offering their company and charms. No wonder that the basement was called a rogue's cave for centuries...

Right next to it, barely separated by a wall, was the most terrible place in all of Krakow: a prison and a torture chamber, where the executioner and his assistants pulled out testimony from bad guys. Their terrifying working tools can be seen today at the Jan Matejko House (branch of the National Museum in Krakow). The convict, who survived the meeting with the executioner, was escorted to the Chapel of the Villains in St. Mary's Church, where he spent the night reconciling with God. Executions by beheading took place in the Main Square, between St. Mary's Church and the Gray Tenement House (No. 6). Those sentenced to death by hanging were chased along the streets of Krakow to Pędzichów, where the gallows were standing.

The tower is open to the public, its cellars are also accessible - they house a cafe and a theater stage (Ludowy Theater).