New Market Square, Bydgoszcz

New Market Square (Nowy Rynek) is a city square located in downtown Bydgoszcz, Poland. Dating from the early 19th century, it has been remodelled since its creation.

Location
The New Market Square is positioned 200 meters south of the Old Market Square, at the foot of the Aleja Górska park. Shaped as a rectangle of 120 meters by 50 meters, it is at the junction of Wały Jagiellońskie Street in the east and Grudziądzka Street in the west, and runs parallel to Długa Street.

History
Following the Congress of Vienna, Bydgoszcz (then called Bromberg) was reintegrated into the Prussian Empire, as the seat of the Bromberg region of the Grand Duchy of Posen. Prussian city authorities laid out zones for the urban development of Bydgoszcz. With the construction of the seat of the region at 3 Jagiellońska Street, multiple buildings were constructed south of the Old Market Square, including the New Market Square in 1835, the district court, and a prison. The New Market Square originally hosted fairs and shooting ranges, before being used for Prussian army parades.

In 1902, the first shop was opened in the New Market Square, run by the company Siuchniński i Stobiecki, they sold silk fabric (bławat) and women's and men's clothing. In 1911, they moved to a new store at Stary Rynek 20.

During the interwar period, it was the location of scouting activities, under the patronage of Józef Haller.

Grudziądzka Street was widened between 1975 and 1976, which altered the rectangular shape of the square.

On the north-eastern side of the square were the buildings of the Masonic lodge "Janus in the East" (Janus na Wschodzie), where the statue of Casimir III the Great is now. Of the two buildings, erected on the eve of the 19th century, one burned down in 1945 and the other was demolished during the widening of Grudziądzka Street.

Until September 14, 2020, the building at Nr. 1 has housed a branch of the Provincial and Municipal Public Library.

Naming
Through history, the square bore the following names:
 * 1835–1920 – Neuer Markt;
 * 1920–1939 – Nowy Rynek;
 * 1939–1940 – Neuer Markt;
 * 1940–1945 – Franz Xaver Schwarz Platz;
 * 1945–1949 – Nowy Rynek;
 * 1950–1956 – Plac Paweł Finder:
 * Since 1956 – Nowy Rynek.

Main buildings
Tenement at 1 Mid-19th century Neo-classicism

Municipal archives trace back the ownership of the plot to the early 19th century. In 1809, it was owned by a shoemaker, Carl Gottlieb Müller.

An address book from 1855 identifies Franz Augustus Dieß, a merchant, as its first landlord, who was the owner of the house for fifty years. In 1906, the municipality took ownership of the building. After World War 1, it housed the lower court office of the Bydgoszcz authorities.

The façade, renovated in 2019, displays classical features. The first level contains a wrought iron balcony, flanked by lesenes and an adorned lintel. On the same floor, the wings of the building contain a round-top window with a figure. The second-level pediment is crowned by a series of stuccoed festoons.