Add a review of the three Town Halls of Gdańsk

Gdansk is by no means the only city in Europe where there are several Town Hall buildings. True, it usually happens Old and New Town Hall, but here the Old, at least two. And in its own way, all three are interesting and beautiful.

The old city is sometimes automatically called the territory, where it is concentrated to the maximum of attractions, but in fact this part of Gdansk is called the Main City. Old is located to the north.

First and foremost - of course, the Town Hall of the Main City in the central city square . Built and rebuilt it for more than a hundred years and it is not known exactly when (the first mention of construction dates back to the 12th century) . First Town Hall was, of course, Gothic, but after the fire in the 16th century and the alteration became more Renaissance . Initially, the gilded sculpture of the Polish ruler Sigismund August in full growth was erected on the spire . The interior of the Town Hall, executed in Italian manner, was magnificent and present nym . Today, enough to look around Large (Red) and Small (Winter) Council Hall and the White Hall (courtroom) to get an idea of ​​the richness and importance of Gdansk at the time .The interior of the Great Hall of the Council can compete with any other European Town Hall . The most valuable thing in it is the ceiling with 25 paintings And . Van den Block, the central one, "Gdańsk apotheosis", contains a multifaceted history of the city development . @ And on the small tower of the Town Hall is still installed a sundial of that time with a philosophical saying in Latin: "The days of our lives - only a shadow" .

At the time when the "Gdansk apotheosis" was written, the brother of the artist, A. Van den Block, has not yet started creating a project of one of the most important symbols city, the fountain of Neptune. Nevertheless, there is a picture in the picture.

In the spring of 1945, all the wooden ceilings of the building and the tower dome were lost in the fire, and the walls of the building were so damaged by bombardments that they threatened to collapse at any second. The Town Hall was identified for demolition, but it was not demolished, but began a painstaking and extremely difficult work to restore the next year after the war. The restoration was completed only after 20 years and more. Today, the headquarters of the Historical Museum is located in the Town Hall.

In the 16th century an amazing carillon was added to the Town Hall, and now there are 37 bells replacing it. Gdansk is the only Polish city where there are carillons in general: not only the one at the Town Hall, but also the second one on the tower of the church of St. Katarzyna. You can go up to the observation gallery of the Town Hall (50 meters high), listen to the hourly ringing and see the city.
The unique bell sounding of the Town Hall of the Main City

The history of the Town Hall of the Old Town is no less interesting . The Old Town guests of Gdansk are automatically called all the territory where the focus is on the maximum of attractions - that is, the pedestrian Royal Route and nearby quarters . But in fact this part of Gdansk is called the Main City, while the Old is located north of . After the capture by the Teutons in 1308 (and the transformation of Gdansk into Danzig), the Old Town was subordinated to the more developed Main City . And today this part of Gdansk is much more modest, less and less visited by tourists .

Therefore, the red brick the building of the Old Town Town Hall is not nearly as impressive as the Main Town Hall, but it is beautiful and recognizable thanks to the elegant black turret, similar to the Elsinorskaya . This Town Hall was built at the end of the 16th century . Van Obbergen for the authorities of the Old Town and also in the Flemish style . In the interior up to si you can see the objects of painting of the 17th century . Neighboring houses belonged to the astronomer Janu Gueveli who was immensely respected in Gdansk, who personally sat in the Town Hall as a jury, and afterwards as an adviser . Here also was his observatory, and in the square in front of the Town Hall building monument to the astronomer .

The portal of the lower hall of the Town Hall, dated 1517, was moved here from another building to . Dluga . This is the oldest portal of the Renaissance (and in the simple Russian way) in the city . But the most beautiful in the interior of this Town Hall is the upper hall with the walls of the Delft tiles walled up . The ceiling ceiling painted in the 17th century was also moved here from another place, as well as the arcade from the stone of the year 1560 . In the Meshchansky Hall of the Town Hall there were court hearings at one time, and musical events . Here you can see on the walls a picturesque brush cycle A . Boya "12 Sivillas", created in the 12th century . And other treasures: plafonds, murals, bas-reliefs dating from the 16th and 17th centuries - in the interior there are still a lot of buildings .

Finally, the New Town Hall near the Central Station and the political center in the newest period of the city's history . She was built at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries for the garrison Prussian commandant's office . The eagle from the Prussian arms . is still visible above the central entrance. Later, the British commander of the occupation forces after the end of World War I - the commissariat of the League of Nations, during the Second World War - the Danzig Gauleiter, and after the end - the Polish Workers' Party Committee . Since 1957 the building was owned by a student club, th townspeople sometimes still call the New Town Hall "Jacques" .

Here in this City Hall since 2000 and meets the City Council.