Market square in the context of "Plaza"

A marketplace, market place, or just market, is a location where people regularly gather for the purchase and sale of provisions, livestock, and other goods. In different parts of the world, a marketplace may be described as a souk (from Arabic), bazaar (from Persian), a fixed mercado (Spanish), itinerant tianguis (Mexico), or palengke (Philippines). Some markets operate daily and are said to be permanent markets while others are held once a week or on less frequent specified days such as festival days and are said to be periodic markets. The form that a market adopts depends on its locality's population, culture, ambient, and geographic conditions. The term market covers many types of trading, such as market squares, market halls, food halls, and their different varieties. Thus marketplaces can be both outdoors and indoors, and in the modern world, online marketplaces.

Markets have existed for as long as humans have engaged in trade. The earliest bazaars are believed to have originated in Persia, from where they spread to the rest of the Middle East and Europe. Documentary sources suggest that zoning policies confined trading to particular parts of cities from around 3000 BCE, creating the conditions necessary for the emergence of a bazaar. Middle Eastern bazaars were typically long strips with stalls on either side and a covered roof designed to protect traders and purchasers from the fierce sun. In Europe, informal, unregulated markets gradually made way for a system of formal, chartered markets from the 12th century. Throughout the medieval period, increased regulation of marketplace practices, especially weights and measures, gave consumers confidence in the quality of market goods and the fairness of prices. Around the globe, markets have evolved in different ways depending on local ambient conditions, especially weather, tradition, and culture. In the Middle East, markets tend to be covered, to protect traders and shoppers from the sun. In milder climates, markets are often open air. In Asia, a system of morning markets trading in fresh produce and night markets trading in non-perishables is common.

A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Related concepts are the civic center, the market square and the village green.

Most squares are hardscapes suitable for open markets, concerts, political rallies, and other events that require firm ground. They are not necessarily a true geometric square.

A market town is a settlement (commonly in Europe) that obtained a market right (by custom or royal charter) in the Middle Ages, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or a city. In Britain, small rural towns with a hinterland of villages are still commonly called market towns, and is sometimes reflected in their names (e.g. Downham Market, Market Rasen, or Market Drayton).

Modern markets are often in special halls, but this is a relatively recent development. Historically the markets were open-air, held in what is usually called (regardless of its actual shape) the market square or market place, sometimes centred on a market cross (mercat cross in Scotland). They were and are typically open one or two days a week. In the modern era, the rise of permanent retail establishments reduced the need for periodic markets.

A market stall or market booth, is a structure used by merchants to display and house their merchandise in a street market, fairs and conventions. Some commercial marketplaces, including market squares or flea markets, may permit more permanent stalls. Stalls are also used throughout the world by vendors selling street food.

There are many types of stalls, including carts designed to be pulled by hand or cycles; makeshift structures like tents, or converted tow-caravans and motor vehicles.

Świecie (Polish: [ˈɕfjɛt͡ɕɛ] ; German: Schwetz) is a town in northern Poland with 24,841 inhabitants (2023), capital of Świecie County in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. It is located within the ethnocultural region of Kociewie in the historic region of Pomerania.

Founded in the Middle Ages, Świecie is a former royal town of Poland, which prospered as a trade center due to its location at the intersection of important trade routes. The town features heritage sites in a variety of styles, including Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Neo-Renaissance and Neo-Gothic, a preserved market square, and the region's sole Museum of Firefighting. Świecie is home to one of the oldest psychiatric hospitals in Poland.