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A ''Ratusz'' () (german: Rathaus; russian: Ратуша, ''Ratusha''; lt, Rotušė) is a historic administrative building in countries that adopted the Magdeburg rights such as the Holy Roman Empire, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and others. It was distinguished with a
bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tow ...
(
lookout A lookout or look-out is a person in charge of the observation of hazards. The term originally comes from a naval background, where lookouts would watch for other ships, land, and various dangers. The term has now passed into wider parlance. ...
or a
clock tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another buildi ...
). Unlike a regular
city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually house ...
which may or may not have any specific architectural compositions, ratusz (rathaus) always consisted of a building with a tower. Ratusz was primarily designated as a
city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually house ...
, traditionally built in the centre of a town or in the middle of a town square or more common market square (freedom of trade as the main goal of Magdeburg rights). Although the old ratusz can still maintain the function of a seat of local government, frequently it is separated from the contemporary city government, the administrative building housing the town council, and often serves as a museum of local history (for example in Ivano-Frankivsk and Tarnów among many others).


History

Prominent examples of a historic ratusz can be found in at least 82 Polish cities. Some of them date back to the mid-13th century, like the ratusz in Kalisz.Janusz Rosikoń
Ratusze w Polsce
Rosikon Press
Szlakiem Rynków i Ratuszy w Polsce
PTTK ''Polskie Towarzystwo Turystyczno-Krajoznawcze'', PTTK (Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society) is a Polish non-governmental tourist organization with 312 branches across the country. The PTTK is one of the oldest tourist societies in Europe. ...
Elżbieta Zagłoba-Zygler
20 lat rajdu motorowego PTTK "Ratusze w Polsce"
"Gosciniec" Polskiego Towarzystwa Turystyczno-Krajoznawczego, PTTK
The oldest tower still standing was erected in 1274 in Toruń while the actual building with 365 windows comes from the 14th century.Douglas Stallings
Ratusz (town hall) in Toruń
''Fodor's Poland''. Random House, 2007. .
The ratusz in Zamość, built during the Renaissance in Poland, is one of the highest achievements of Renaissance architecture anywhere in the country. It was intentionally placed in the corner of the town square not to outshine the nearby
Zamoyski The House of Zamoyski (plural: Zamoyscy) is the name of an important Polish noble ( szlachta) family, which used the Jelita coat of arms. It is the Polish term for "de Zamość" (Polish "z Zamościa"), the name they originally held as lords of Z ...
Palace of the city's owners, which it did anyway, once the imposing Baroque staircase was added in the 17th century.Douglas Stallings
Ratusz (town hall) in Zamość
''Fodor's Poland'', p. 238. Random House, 2007. .
The ratusz in Poznań, dating from the mid-16th century, has a clock with billy goats butting heads, which attracts hundreds of spectators every day in tourist season.Douglas Stallings
Ratusz (town hall) in Poznań
''Fodor's Poland'', p. 131. Random House, 2007. .
Throughout the centuries many Polish town halls have been damaged in foreign invasions, such as the ratusz in Sandomierz, with city rights since 1286, meticulously renovated before being turned into a museum.Wykaz ratuszy z Polski (Compendium of Poland's ratuszes)
History and photographs. JakTrafic.org.
In the royal city of Kraków, the historic ratusz, built of brick and mortar in the centre of Main Square, originally in 1316, has been torn down not by the occupiers, but by the Cracovians themselves in 1820 because it was not considered pretty enough. What remains of it is the massive town-hall tower, a prominent example of
Polish Gothic architecture The Gothic architecture arrived in Poland in the first half of the 13th century with the arrival of the Dominican and Franciscan orders. The first elements of the new style are evident in the foundation of the Dominican Trinity church in Kraków ...
.Kamil Janicki
Co się stało z krakowskim ratuszem?
Ciekawostki turystyczne.
A considerable number of heritage city halls became historical museums in the 20th century, including the ratusz in Toruń (
Toruń Regional Museum )'' , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg , image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg , nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town , pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...
or ''Muzeum Okręgowe'' in Polish), with stained glass and gingerbread divisions, in Poznań (''Muzeum Okręgowe''), with a Chopin division, in
Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of ...
(''Muzeum Okręgowe''),
Siedlce Siedlce [] ( yi, שעדליץ ) is a city in eastern Poland with 77,354 inhabitants (). Situated in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), previously the city was the capital of a separate Siedlce Voivodeship (1975–1998). The city is situated b ...
(''Muzeum Okręgowe''),
Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Białystok is located in the Białystok Up ...
(''Muzeum Podlaskie''), Gdańsk (''Muzeum Historii Miasta''), Sandomierz (''Muzeum Okręgowe''), and Szczecin (''Muzeum Historii Miasta Szczecina''). Others still serve as seats of local government, and sometimes also as civil wedding halls and art galleries, restaurants, and cultural centres. These include Zamość, Kielce,
Zielona Góra Zielona Góra is the largest city in Lubusz Voivodeship, located in western Poland, with 140,403 inhabitants (2021). Zielona Góra has a favourable geographical position, being close to the Polish-German border and on several international road ...
(also a civil wedding hall, restaurant, and winery),
Kętrzyn Kętrzyn (, until 1946 ''Rastembork''; german: link=yes, Rastenburg ) is a town in northeastern Poland with 27,478 inhabitants (2019). Situated in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship (since 1999), Kętrzyn was previously in Olsztyn Voivodeship (19 ...
(also a wedding hall and cultural centre), and Kołobrzeg (also a wedding hall, cultural centre, and gallery of modern art).


Etymology

The Polish word ''ratusz'' to describe a city hall is derived from the German ''
Rathaus In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually house ...
'' (council house) sometime during the Middle Ages. The influence also serves as a
metonym Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with that thing or concept. Etymology The words ''metonymy'' and ''metonym'' come from grc, μετωνυμία, 'a change of name' ...
for the
burmistrz Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, literally "master of the town, master of the borough, master of the fortress, master of the citizens") is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief ...
(
burgomaster Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, literally "master of the town, master of the borough, master of the fortress, master of the citizens") is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief ...
, or mayor), derived from the German ''bürgermeister''. Since 1980, the Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society (
PTTK ''Polskie Towarzystwo Turystyczno-Krajoznawcze'', PTTK (Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society) is a Polish non-governmental tourist organization with 312 branches across the country. The PTTK is one of the oldest tourist societies in Europe. ...
) offers a badge for tourists interested in organizing group excursions across the country with the aim of visiting the maximum number of ratusz towns and cities. The PTTK hands out a special booklet where stamps can be collected for the gold badge awarded for visiting a minimum of twenty ratusz outlets.


Prominent examples

File:Bielsko-Biała Town Hall.jpg,
Bielsko-Biała Bielsko-Biała (; cs, Bílsko-Bělá, german: Bielitz-Biala, szl, Bjylsko-Bjoło) is a city in southern Poland, with a population of approximately 168,319 as of December 2021, making it the 22nd largest city in Poland, and an area of . It is a ...
File:Chelmno ratusz 03.jpg,
Chełmno Chełmno (; older en, Culm; formerly ) is a town in northern Poland near the Vistula river with 18,915 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the seat of the Chełmno County in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. Due to its regional importa ...
File:PL Jawor Ratusz.JPG,
Jawor Jawor (german: Jauer) is a town in south-western Poland with 22,890 inhabitants (2019). It is situated in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship (from 1975 to 1998 it was in the former Legnica Voivodeship). It is the seat of Jawor County, and lies appr ...
File:PL Kalisz Ratusz..JPG, Kalisz File:Kłodzko - Ratusz.JPG, Kłodzko File:Lublin Nowy Ratusz.jpg,
Lublin Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of ...
File:Ns ratusz.jpg,
Nowy Sącz Nowy Sącz (; hu, Újszandec; yi, Tzanz, צאַנז; sk, Nový Sonč; german: Neu-Sandez) is a city in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship of southern Poland. It is the district capital of Nowy Sącz County as a separate administrative unit. It has ...
File:Paczków - Town hall.jpg,
Paczków Paczków (german: Patschkau; szl, Paczkōw) is a town in Nysa County, Opole Voivodeship, Poland, with 7,460 inhabitants (2019). It is one of the few towns in Europe in which medieval fortifications have been almost completely preserved.
File:Ratusz2007.jpg, Poznań File:Sandomierz Town Hall 20051004 1200.jpg, Sandomierz File:Sulechów-ratusz.jpg,
Sulechów Sulechów (pronounced , german: Züllichau) is a town located within the Zielona Góra County, in Lubusz Voivodeship, western Poland. It is the administrative seat of the Gmina Sulechów. Established in the Middle Ages, the town features many hi ...
File:Jarosław Ratusz 2.JPG, Jarosław File:Toruń - Ratusz nocą.jpg, Toruń File:Zamosc Town Hall 01.jpg, Zamość File:Ziebice-ratusz.jpg, Ziębice File:Kolomiya town hall1.JPG,
Kolomyia Kolomyia, formerly known as Kolomea ( ua, Коломия, Kolomyja, ; pl, Kołomyja; german: Kolomea; ro, Colomeea; yi, ), is a city located on the Prut River in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast ( province), in western Ukraine. It serves as the ad ...
File:Lwów - Ratusz.jpg,
Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukra ...
File:Townhall ivano-frankivsk.jpg, Ivano-Frankivsk File:HH Rathaus pano1.jpg, City hall in Hamburg (Rathaus)


References

Polish words and phrases Gubernatorial titles Architecture in Poland Magdeburg rights {{authority control