History

The earliest mentions of the village, known as Rzeszotarzewo back then, date back to 1379; at the time, the village was the seat of the renowned Samson-Wat noble family who had then adopted the family name of Rzeszotarzewski. In 1551, the village became the property of the Tłocki noble family, only to be acquired by the Hersztopski family sometime later; in the 17th century, it became the property of the Żegocki family. Krzysztof Żegocki, the owner of the Rostrarzewo village who would later become the voivode or province governor (wojewoda) of Inowrocław, became famous for having led a guerilla warfare against the Swedish forces at the time of the Deluge. In the 18th century, the village was owned by the Malczewski family. In 1752, Rostrarzewo was granted municipal rights thanks to the efforts of Maciej Malczewski. The charter was issued by the king Augustus III of Poland. From that time until 1934, Rostrarzewo retained the status of a town. It retains its historical layout, with a rectangular market square (currently known as the Powstańców Wielkopolskich Square - the Square of the Greater Poland Insurgents) and a number of streets positioned perpendicularly towards the square. The town hall was erected in 1768 in the centre of the market square. The building was also designed to serve as a toll house. The main road leading from Poznań to Wolsztyn led through the town hall gates and vestibule, where all arriving individuals would be asked to pay the so-called hoof toll. The building was restored in 1954 and was used, among other things, as a library. Today, the structure remains disused.

Description

The town hall stands in the centre of the village, in the middle of the market square. The Baroque building was erected on a floor plan whose shape approximates that of a square, with a vestibule running across the entire building positioned on the axis thereof. The compact, two-storey structure is covered by a tall mansard roof. A basement is located underneath parts of the building. The central section of the roof features a quadrangular steeple with a clock, rising from the roof ridge and topped with a slender spire crowned with a sphere, a flag-shaped weather vane and a star. The weather vane carries the date 1768.

The town hall is a brick building positioned on a stone foundation. The upper storey is a timber frame structure with brick infills. The walls are covered with plaster. The roof and the spire atop the steeple are clad with wood shingles. Inside, the ceiling structure is made of wood and features the use of counter-ceilings. The façade is partitioned by a profiled string course. The central sections of the front and back façades project slightly beyond the rest of the building, each of them forming a shallow avant-corps. Most of the windows are rectangular in shape. A broad gate topped with a basket-handle arch is positioned on the axis of the front façade and comes equipped with a heavy double door made of wood; a window topped with a segmental arch can be seen directly above the gate. A similar design was also used for the middle section of the rear façade.

The building may be viewed from the outside.

compiled by Krzysztof Jodłowski, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Poznań, 05-08-2016.

Bibliography

• Katalog zabytków sztuki w Polsce, t. V, z. 28 : powiat wolsztyński, Warszawa 1970, s. 24.
• Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego, red. Bronisław Chlebowski [i in.], t. IX, Warszawa 1888, s. 795-96.
• Wielkopolskie ratusze, koncepcja, teksty i wybór fotografii P. Maluśkiewicz, Poznań 2005, s. 150-53.