The epicentre of Chełmno’s chessboard of streets is the Rynek, in the middle of which stands the compact Renaissance Town Hall, built around 1570 on the site of the previous Gothic structure. It now houses the Regional Museum, whose collection traces the town’s history, though the building’s interior, including a spectacular courtroom, is equally distracting.
Outside, affixed on the rear wall of the Town Hall is the old Chełmno measure, the 4.35m-long pręt chełmiński. The entire town was laid out according to this measure, setting all the streets exactly the same width apart. It is divided into ‘feet’ a little smaller than an English foot. This unique system was used until the 19th century; the town also had its own weights.
