Piotrków Trybunalski is a city where the general parliament and the Crown Tribunal held meetings during the First Polish Republic. The Old Town has been preserved here with the street layout from the Middle Ages and the Gothic-Renaissance royal castle.
The city was founded at the end of the 13th century and due to its location it quickly became an important commercial and administrative center as well as the seat of courts. In 1468, the first General Seym of the Kingdom of Poland was held here, and in 1493 the first Seym, during which the chamber of deputies and senators was separated. Thanks to this, Piotrków Trybunalski entered the history of Polish parliamentarism for good.
The late Middle Ages and the times until the 17th century were the period of the greatest development in Piotrków. Provincial conventions and general assemblies were held here, and the Crown Tribunal also debated. Thanks to this, the city developed and grew rich. The most important monuments from this period include the Castle in Piotrków Trybunalski, which today houses the District Museum, the Gothic Minor Basilica of st. James the Apostle, the remains of the city walls, the baroque Sanctuary of Our Lady of Tribunal, as well as the historic urban layout of the Old Town.
In the center of Piotrków Trybunalski there is the Old Town Square. It is surrounded by tenement houses with neoclassical facades. However, most of them have gothic walls and vaults, and their present appearance is due to the reconstruction after the fire in the late eighteenth century. The Great Synagogue was also built at that time, which now serves as the seat of the library. The Orthodox Church of All Saints and the Park of Fr. Józef Poniatowski.
