It was then that the modern architecture was combined with the remnants of an earlier building that had survived the destruction caused by acts of World War II. It is a free-standing building located in the central part of the market square. The presented building is an important element of the spatial layout of Kożuchów.

History of the site

The Rynek Street (formerly Ring in German) marks the area of the oldest preserved buildings of the old town. In the 1st half of the 19th century, the seat of town authorities - the town hall - was built in the north-east section of the market square. Basements preserved under the surface of the market square, accessible today from the basements of the present town hall, constitute relics of the first town hall. The original building was destroyed in a fire of 1488. Afterwards, in 1489, a new Late-Gothic town hall was erected in the middle of the market square. That town hall was a wooden, two-storey building set on a rectangular floor plan and boasting a tower on the west side. Relics of that Gothic building have survived to our times in the form of the north wall and the tower. During the renovation of 1601 vaults were installed in the town hall and a new cupola with a gloriette was mounted on the tower. Reconstruction works of the town hall following the fires of 1692 and 1764 did not radically change its appearance. A further redesign that took place in the years 1848-1849 endowed the new, larger, three-storey building with a Neo-Classicist character. During the acts of World War II the building was consumed by the fire. In the years 1963-1966 restoration works were carried out, consisting in tearing down adjacent annexes, reducing the building’s cubature and at the same time preserving the Gothic north wall and reconstructing the Gothic tower. At present, the town hall houses administrative offices. The structure is one of the most representative buildings in the city.

Description of the site

The town hall, located in 1a Rynek Street, is a free-standing building. The building is situated in the very centre of Kożuchów, in the central part of the square.  Rynek Street is a part of the strict monument protection zone. The area in front of the town hall is lined with granite paving blocks. In the part of the square, in front of the building, parking space has been delimited. The town hall body obtained its shape during the reconstruction works carried out in the years 1963-1966 according to the design by Michał Witwicki. The preserved elements include a Gothic north wall made of bricks with an entrance portal and a partially reconstructed Gothic tower, whose upper part was crowned in a modern style. The east wing of the building has retained the form resulting from the 19th-century Neo-Classical redevelopment with original partitions and articulations. During the postwar modernisation, the south façade was given a modern form inspired by the modernist architecture. Window openings in all external walls are coherent with the character of the façade. Particular sections of the town hall are covered with flat roofs. Door and window joinery is modern. The interior was provided with a modern structure. The original fittings and décor of the town hall have not survived.

Visitor access. The town hall is a monument owned by local government. Due to the fact that it houses offices of local administration, the building is not widely available to the public.

Author of the note: Krzysztof Słowiński, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Zielona Góra, 17-09-2015

Bibliography

• Garbacz K., Przewodnik po zabytkach województwa lubuskiego, vol. II, Zielona Góra 2012, p. 265;
• Garbacz K., Szlakiem zabytkowych miast. Przewodnik po południowej części województwa lubuskiego, Zielona Góra 2005, p. 208;
• Kowalski S., Zabytki architektury województwa lubuskiego, Zielona Góra 2010, p. 168;
• Kowalski S., Zabytki województwa zielonogórskiego, Zielona Góra 1987, pp. 110-111.