EN
The problem discussed in the article concerns the manifestations of poverty in the space of a modern town, which is a peculiar stage for the everyday events played on it. The text consists of three parts. The first part is about the multi-functional importance of the town centre for cultural, social and political life of the inhabitants. The second part presents the background and motivations for the decision to 'take to the streets' in order to get some food and money, and describes the attitudes and behaviours of 'our own' and 'foreign' beggars. These problems have been discussed at the background of a short historical description of beggary. The third party of the article discusses the cultural symbiosis between people and the space of the town centre in the situation of socio-economic destabilisation, which is the result of system changes.