The long-term archaeological studies of the central part of the Golden Horde Bolgar have resulted in the discovery and study of a unique structure for Eastern Europe – the building of a town bazaar of the mid-14^th century. The article considers the stages of development of the town district where the structure was erected. The study area featured the first underground iron-smelting catalan hearth studied in territory of Bolgar fortified settlement, which are similar to the “Saltovo type” of hearths in term of their design features and dated 10^th century. At the end of the pre-Mongol period and during the Golden Horde period, iron production complexes were replaced with manors accommodating production facilities associated with the smelting and processing of non-ferrous metals, primarily copper. Craft industries of the region reached their highest level of development in the first half of the 14^th century. This period is associated with the operation of copper-smelting, glass-working, jewellery and bone carving workshops. An iron processing district was located in the immediate vicinity of the region. Thus, the emergence of a town bazaar in the study area is in no small part related to the maximum concentration of craft industries in this area of medieval Bolgar.