History of the structure

The town hall was erected in 1581 based on a privilege granted by the king Stephen Báthory, in place of the former seat, most probably made of wood. Following a fire in 1666, the town hall was reconstructed using the basements and ground floor walls of the previous building as its basis. The first floor was erected in a timber-frame structure, the tower was extended upwards and a clock with a chime was installed. The town hall mainly served as a seat of the Municipal Council, but also housed town scales, treasury, pharmacy and salt warehouse. A prison was found in the three-storey tower and a pillory was situated in front of the town hall. Subsequent modifications took place in the years 1743-1753, after the town fire of 1731. In that period, the feature was reconstructed, this time using bricks and forming modest architectural details in the Baroque spirit. The present form of the building is a result of an extension after the fire of 1827. The interiors on the ground floor were redesigned and the attic was adapted by inserting a wall dormer; the tower was crowned with a Gothic Revival dome with a lantern and the façades were arranged in the Classicist style.

Site description

The town hall is located in the centre of the market square in the Old Town. It is a building with Classicist features and includes preserved relics of the former Renaissance and Baroque edifice. The building is made of bricks, set on a rectangular floor plan, has a basement and a usable attic; it is covered with a half-hip roof and features a quadrangular tower in the roof ridge, crowned with a dome including a lantern. The façades are pierced by symmetrically arranged window axes, accentuated by a rhythmic order of pilasters and by cornices. The façade axis was accentuated by a large wall dormer in the roof plane, with windows terminating in semi-circles and a triangular finial. The rooms on the ground floor feature preserved groin and barrel vaults.

Visitor access. Heritage site accessible to the general public. It can be visited upon prior telephone arrangement.

Author of the note: compiled by Marta Kłaczkowska, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Zielona Góra, 20-12-2017

Bibliography

• Garbacz K., Przewodnik po zabytkach województwa lubuskiego, vol. 3, Zielona Góra 2013, p. 205;
• Kowalski S., Zabytki architektury województwa lubuskiego, Zielona Góra 2010, p. 226;
• Zabytki północnej części województwa lubuskiego, Lewczuk J., Skaziński B. (eds.), Gorzów Wlkp.-Zielona Góra 2004, pp. 96-97