The Red Town Hall (; ), also known as the New Town Hall (; ), is a historic

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

building in

Szczecin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Poland-Germany border, German border, it is a major port, seaport, the la ...

, Poland. It is placed at 4 Stephen Báthory Square, within the

New Town New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz * New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** New (Paul McCartney song), "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * New (EP), ''New'' (EP), ...

neighbourhood 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 was designed by Konrad Kruhl, and opened in 1897, as the seat of municipal government. It was burned down in 1945, and rebuilt in 1963, now housing the local maritime administration.

History

It was designed by Konrad Kruhl in the

style, as a new seat of municipal government of

(then ''Stettin''), after its old building, the Old Town Hall, was deemed inadequate in size for the modern needs. The construction begun on 2 September 1875, and it was opened on 10 January 1879. Inside was installed a sculpture of the city coat of arms, dating to 1659, moved from the Old Town Hall. In 1939, its attic was adopted into apartments, with its sharp pinacles, decorating the outside

lesene A lesene, also called a pilaster strip, is an architectural term for a narrow, low-relief vertical pillar on a wall. It resembles a pilaster, but does not have a base or capital. It is typical in Lombardic and Rijnlandish architectural building ...

s, being replaced with small poles.Tadeusz Białecki (editor): ''Encyklopedia Szczecina. Wydanie jubileuszowe z okazji 70-lecia polskiego Szczecina''. Szczecin: Szczecińskie Towarzystwo Kultury, 2015. ISBN 978-83-942725-0-0. (in Polish) The building was minimally demaged in arial bombardment throughout the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and was set on fire and destoryed in an arsonist attack on 6 December 1945. Its circumstances remain uncertain. Its ruins stood until 1956, and the town hall was rebuilt between 1959 and 1963. It was originally planed for it to house portion of the municipal government, however, it was eventually given to the organs of the local maritime administration. The building was renovated between 2008 and 2016. Currently, the building houses the Szczecin Maritime Office, which administrates the building, as well as a few other government institutions.

Architecture

The

building is made from red and, to lesser extent, green bricks, and has a rectangular base, It is placed on an escarpment, with Stephen Báthory to the west and the Tobruk Square to the east. Its western entrance features a tarrace with representative staircases, and arcades, with four ceramic statues installed above the pillers. Made in 1869 by Emil Steiner, each has the height of 120 m, and represents one of four city's traits: manufacturing industry, agriculture, maritime shipping, and education. The interior staricase is decorated with a sculpture from 1659, depicting the coat of arms of Szczecin, which was moved from the Old Town Hall. The building has two more

avant-corps An ''avant-corps'' ( or , plural , , ), a French term literally meaning "fore-body", is a part of a building, such as a porch or pavilion, that juts out from the ''corps de logis'', often taller than other parts of the building.Curl, James Stev ...

at its western corners. Its façade is richly ornamented, featuring balconies, towers, acanthuses around its windows. The top of west and east walls features

cartouches file:Birth and Throne cartouches of pharaoh Seti I, from KV17 at the Valley of the Kings, Egypt. Neues Museum.jpg, upalt=A stone face carved with coloured hieroglyphics. Two cartouches - ovoid shapes with hieroglyphics inside - are visible at the ...

, depicting the city coat of arms, surrounded by two lions, holding the crown of

House of Vasa The House of Vasa or Wasa was a Dynasty, royal house that was founded in 1523 in Sweden. Its members ruled the Kingdom of Sweden from 1523 to 1654 and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1587 to 1668. Its agnatic line became extinct with t ...

above it. The main hall has the tall ceiling with

rib vault A rib vault or ribbed vault is an architectural feature for covering a wide space, such as a church nave, composed of a framework of crossed or diagonal arched ribs. Variations were used in Roman architecture, Byzantine architecture, Islamic a ...

, and featuring a skylight fron stained glass, as well as large paintings and iron chandeliers.

Gallery

File:Szczecin Czerwony Ratusz (1).jpg, The building as seen from northwest. File:Szczecin Czerwony Ratusz herb.jpg, The coat of arms of Szczecin topping its left façade.

References

{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Szczecin City and town halls in Poland Former seats of local government Government buildings in Poland Government buildings completed in 1897 Office buildings completed in 1897 Residential buildings completed in 1897 1897 establishments in Prussia Buildings and structures demolished in 1945 Burned buildings and structures in Poland Rebuilt buildings and structures in Poland Objects of cultural heritage in Poland Office buildings in Poland Government buildings completed in 1963 Office buildings completed in 1963 1963 establishments in Poland Arson in the 1940s Arson in Poland Apartment buildings in Szczecin Gothic Revival architecture in Poland Buildings and structures in Poland destroyed during World War II