Hala Targowa in Gdańsk has reopened after 18 months of renovation carried out by Apsys Polska, attracting 25,700 visitors on its first day of operation. The revitalisation, the most extensive in the building's 130-year history, cost 141 million złoty and was conducted under the supervision of the regional heritage conservation authority.
The venue operates across three levels and houses 34 food and retail concepts. The ground floor contains 17 street food outlets offering cuisines from various countries, along with two bars. The upper level hosts four table-service restaurants, while the lower level features a delicatessen area with 10 retail units and a bar. Two stages for cultural and entertainment events are also located within the building. Two external squares complement the offer: Plac Dominikański serves as a public space for seasonal food trucks and a summer stage, while the northern square will soon host the Zielony Rynek fruit and vegetable market.
From September, a mobile application called Ha!Apka will allow guests to place orders from multiple food outlets simultaneously, and the historic vaulted ceiling will become a canvas for projection mapping shows. The lower level already features an interactive historical panel, a museum exhibition on the city's culinary traditions and exposed relics of a 12th-century Romanesque church.
"More than 25,000 guests on the first day is the best confirmation that Gdańsk was waiting for Hala Targowa to return. Now the most important thing for us is for the Hall to be a place people want to come back to," said Joanna Tymińska, director of Hala Targowa. Renovation work included cleaning the steel structure, restoring historic market kiosks to their original positions, exposing brick pillars, and fully modernising technical infrastructure. The interior design was handled by Boris Kudlička with Partners.
"For 30 years at Apsys we have been creating places rooted in the identity of their cities. Our task was to preserve the character of the building and its 130 years of history, while creating a place that responds to the needs of today's residents and visitors to Gdańsk. Seeing the Hall full of people on the very first day, we feel that this new chapter has begun exactly as we had hoped," said Benoît Charles, CEO of Apsys Polska.
