Vadstena Town Hall ( sv, Vadstena rådhus) is a former

town 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 houses ...

Vadstena Vadstena () is a locality and the seat of Vadstena Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden, with 5,613 inhabitants in 2010. From 1974 to 1979 Vadstena was administered as part of Motala Municipality. Despite its small population, Vadstena is ...

, Sweden. It is the oldest preserved town hall in Sweden.

History and architecture

The town hall is the oldest surviving town hall in Sweden. It was built during the 15th and 16th centuries. It is located on ''Rådhustorget'', the oldest square of Vadstena which derives its name from the town hall. The square itself is mentioned in written sources for the first time in the early 15th century, and the construction of the town hall started after Vadstena was granted

town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...

by Queen Margaret. The building comprises three distinct parts: the actual town hall, facing east; a tower; and a northern wing. The oldest part is the part facing east. Its construction date is referred to as 1490 in several sources; however, dendrochronological examination of a wooden beam in the building has concluded that the wood was felled before 1454–55. Possible explanations may be that older wood was re-used when building the town hall, or that the town hall was substantially rebuilt after a fire which destroyed much of Vadstena in 1487. The tower of the town hall is presumed to have been built at the beginning of the 16th century, and reflects a Northern German fashion of adorning town halls with an impressive tower. The spire and lantern of the tower dates from 1691 and replaced earlier

crow-stepped gable A stepped gable, crow-stepped gable, or corbie step is a stairstep type of design at the top of the triangular gable-end of a building. The top of the parapet wall projects above the roofline and the top of the brick or stone wall is stacked in ...

s. In its present appearance, the northern wing of the town hall dates from 1728, when it replaced an earlier annex dating from 1567. In connection with this, the whole town hall was rebuilt and acquired the appearance it still largely has. Later alterations include changes made to the roof in 1776 and again in the 19th century, and refurbishments carried out in 1915, 1958 and 1962. In connection with the installation of public toilets on the square in front of the town hall, an archaeological examination was carried out in 2014. The town hall was the seat of the local government until the 1970s, but lost its

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. Jur ...

and function as a town court in 1948. Today it is occasionally used for art exhibitions and also houses a restaurant. The tower of the town hall at one point contained the town

jail A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

, and historical records also note that the town

executioner An executioner, also known as a hangman or headsman, is an official who executes a sentence of capital punishment on a legally condemned person. Scope and job The executioner was usually presented with a warrant authorising or order ...

lived in a building adjacent to the town hall.

References

External links

* {{coord, 58.4472, N, 14.8876, E, type:landmark_region:SE, display=title City and town halls in Sweden Buildings and structures in Östergötland County