Mährische Pforte
The oldest settlement evolved around a small gord and wooden church in what was later known as Stara Wieś. The modern town (around "Market Square") was probably founded in the second half of the 13th century. The first reference in sources to the place dates from 1303. The main trading route between Kievan Rus and the Moravian Gate ran through Pszczyna in the early Middle Ages, and the small settlement probably provided protective measures for merchants on the ford (surrounded by marshlands) of the small Pszczynka river.