The Cloth Hall was one of the city's most important institutions - for it was here that trade was concentrated. The first Cloth Hall, which was built in the 13th century when Cracow was granted city rights, was two rows of stone stalls forming a street in the middle of the Market Square. Both ends of the street were closed at night with a grating to keep thieves away. The brick-roofed Cloth Hall was built in the 14th century - its traces in the form of pointed arcades on the sides are still visible today. Trade in the Cloth Hall was an important source of income for the city - according to royal privilege, visiting cloth merchants could only sell their goods here