Wismar Marktplatz

One of the largest medieval market squares in northern Germany, this Hanseatic plaza is framed by gabled brick and pastel façades reflecting centuries of Baltic trade. At its centre stands the Wasserkunst, an ornate copper-domed waterworks pavilion that once supplied the town with drinking water. The square hosts weekly markets beneath the shadow of the Alter Schwede, a Gothic merchant's house now serving as an inn. A distinctive detail is the network of underground channels, the Grube, that still carries a stream past the square's edges.