Main City Hall (; ) is a historic town hall located in

Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

, Poland, within the Main City borough of the

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

district. It is one of the finest examples of the Gothic-

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

historic buildings in the city, built at the intersection of Ulica Długa and Długi Targ, in the most popular part of Gdańsk. The Main Town Hall in Gdańsk houses the History Museum of the City of Gdańsk.

Location

The Main Town Hall in

is located on Ulica Długa, part of the Royal Route. The building is located in the building complex, surrounded by Ulica Długa, Kramarska Street, Piwna Street, and Kaletnicza Street, located at the corner of the first two. The building is the second highest building in the Main City (after St. Mary's Church), and is in the most notable part of Śródmieście in

. Access to the building by car is difficult, as Ulica Długa is pedestrianised all year around. The public transport does not reach the building. The closest tram stop is located at Podwale Przedmiejskie.

History

The oldest fragments of the town hall come from 1327 to 1336 - the building was then much smaller in size, which led to its expansion in the subsequent years. In the fourteenth-century the Main City of

was reconstructed, and in 1346 replaced the then enforced Lübeck law with the Kulm law. The reform had separated the roles of the city council and ława miejska (which was responsible for the judiciary). The separation of the two bodies led to the need for two separate halls for the two institutions. In 1357, in the location of the current town hall, a temporary town hall was located. The first major expansion of the building began in 1378, after the full Kulm law was given to the city. The expansion of the building was led by Henryk Ungerdin, and the reconstruction was complete in 1382. Between 1454 and 1457, with the relation of the arrival of

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Casimir IV Jagiellon, the town hall was expanded. The town hall's tower was complete in the years of 1486-1488; the building of which was led by Henryk Hetzel. The tower was completed by Michał Enkinger, with a high dome in 1492, which had burnt down in 1494. In 1504, the town hall was visited by

Alexander Jagiellon. After a fire in 1556, the town hall was rebuilt and expanded with Renaissance influences by Dutch architects and master-builders, including Wilhem van den Meer, Dirk Daniels, and Anthonis van Obbergen. In 1561, a gilded statue of the then reigning Polish King Sigismund II Augustus was placed at the top of the tower and a

carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a musical keyboard, keyboard and consists of at least 23 bells. The bells are Bellfounding, cast in Bell metal, bronze, hung in fixed suspension, and Musical tuning, tu ...

was installed in the tower. The 'Red Room,' designed by Dutch architect Hans Vredeman de Vries, can be considered one of the most outstanding examples of Dutch Mannerism in Gdańsk. Heavily damaged in WW2, with the loss of the top of the tower, the town hall was carefully repaired and reconstructed, largely complete by 1952.

Gallery

2010-07-09-gdansk-by-RalfR-168.jpg, Sundial Gdańsk Ratusz GM 02.jpg, Statue of King Sigismund II Augustus at the top of the tower Gdansk 2018 spring -020 (41641872744).jpg, White Room Gdańsk Ratusz GM muzeum 004.jpg, Red Room 635537 Gdańsk Ratusz Głównego Miasta wnętrza 01.JPG, Spiral stairs

References

* Muzeum Historyczne Miasta Gdańska (2016)
Ratusz Głównego Miasta
History. Visitor information. {{Authority control Buildings and structures in Gdańsk City and town halls in Poland Rebuilt buildings and structures in Gdańsk