Gdańsk Main Town Hall is a historic

Ratusz 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. I ...

located in the

Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...

Main City borough of Śródmieście. It is one of the finest examples of the Gothic-

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...

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

Front door and portal of Gdańsk Town Hall

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 The Lübeck law (german: Lübisches (Stadt)Recht) was the family of codified municipal law developed at Lübeck, which became a free imperial city in 1226 and is located in present day Schleswig-Holstein. It was the second most prevalent form of ...

with the

Kulm law Kulm law, Culm law or Chełmno Law (german: Kulmer Recht; lat, Jus Culmense vetus; pl, Prawo chełmińskie) was a legal constitution for a municipal form of government used in several Central European cities during the Middle Ages. It was initi ...

. The reform had separated the roles of the

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

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

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 the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the t ...

Casimir IV Jagiellon Casimir IV (in full Casimir IV Andrew Jagiellon; pl, Kazimierz IV Andrzej Jagiellończyk ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447, until his death. He was one of the ...

, 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 A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a ...

in 1492, which had burnt down in 1494. In 1504, the town hall was visited by

Alexander Jagiellon Alexander Jagiellon ( pl, Aleksander Jagiellończyk, lt, Aleksandras Jogailaitis; 5 August 1461 – 19 August 1506) of the House of Jagiellon was the Grand Duke of Lithuania and later also King of Poland. He was the fourth son of Casimir IV Jagie ...

. 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 Anthonis van Obbergen (Antonius, Anthonis, Anthony, Antonie, Anton - Obberghen, Oberberg, Opbergen) (1543 in Mechelen – 1611 in Danzig (Gdańsk)) was a Flemish architect and fortifications engineer. After studying masonry in Mechelen and co ...

. In 1561, a

gilded Gilding is a decorative technique for applying a very thin coating of gold over solid surfaces such as metal (most common), wood, porcelain, or stone. A gilded object is also described as "gilt". Where metal is gilded, the metal below was tra ...

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 keyboard and consists of at least 23 cast-bronze bells. The bells are hung in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoni ...

was installed in the tower. Heavily damaged in WW2, with the loss of the top of the tower, it 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. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gdansk Main Town Hall Buildings and structures in Gdańsk City and town halls in Poland