The Old Town City Hall in Toruń - the main secular building of Toruń's Old Town, a Gothic building created in stages during the 13th and 14th centuries, reconstructed in the 17th century and rebuilt after destruction in the 18th century, one of the most outstanding examples of medieval city architecture in central Europe, the main seat of the District Museum in Toruń.
Location
The City Hall is located in the Old Town Complex, on the Old Town Market Square.
History
Original buildings of the city hall grew gradually during the 13th and 14th centuries. The merchant's house with its cloth hall (domus forensis) was probably built on the place of the present western wing on the basis of the privilege granted in 1259 by Prussian master Gerhard von Hirzberg. Another privilege for the construction of the tower, stalls and bread benches, on the place of today's eastern wing of the city hall, comes from 1274. According to the reconstruction by E. Gąsiorowski, at the end of the 13th century, the Old Town Market Square consisted of two elongated, parallel buildings. There was a merchant's house to the west and a building with stalls and bread benches to the east. The walls of both buildings were connected by curtain walls. On the south side, there was a tower adjacent to the bread stalls and benches, extended by two storeys in 1385 and preserved in this form to this day.
The present shape of the city hall is a result of an extensive construction project from the years 1391-1399, carried out in the Gothic style, probably under the direction of the Polish town constructor, master Andrew, based on the privilege of grand master Konrad von Wallenrode from 1393 (the privilege was issued during the construction). Old commercial buildings were demolished at that time, leaving only the tower. The administrative, commercial and judicial functions were combined in one building, which was a unique solution in Europe at the time. The city hall took the form of a four-winged building on a 44 × 52 m rectangular plan, with an internal courtyard accessible through four gates in the middle of each wing. The tower was based on the Flemish beffroi towers. It was covered with a high Gothic roof (destroyed in 1703), which was a distinctive element of the former skyline of the city.
A Mannerist reconstruction carried out in 1602-1605 on the initiative of Mayor Henry Stroband and probably designed by Antoni van Obberghen consisted of raising the building by one floor. It did not erase the Gothic character of the city hall, as the architect, extending the Gothic recesses, ended them with sharp arches, while introducing elements known from the architecture of Gdańsk - corner hanging turrets and roofs with Dutch decoration in the middle of each wing. The reconstruction of the Toruń City Hall is an interesting testimony to the respect of the Gothic form by the Mannerist architect.
In 1703, during the siege of the city by the Swedish army, a serious fire of the city hall broke out. Almost all the interior design was destroyed as a result, the roofs collapsed and the building remained without a roof until 1722. In the years 1722-1737, the building was rebuilt - new roofs were built, the interiors were reconstructed, and an avant-corps with late Baroque forms was added from the west to strengthen the wall in danger of collapse. Designs to rebuild the entire city hall in the late Baroque style, developed by G. B. Cocchi, also existed. In 1869 the Baroque avant-corps was replaced by a neo-Gothic one, which has been preserved until today. In the 19th century some of the interiors were also reconstructed.
A general renovation and adaptation works for the museum were carried out between 1957 and 1964. The most important works included strengthening the walls and vaults, restoring the interiors to their former appearance by demolishing nineteenth-century partition walls, and unveiling medieval architectural elements, walled up at a later time. The 18th century wooden roof truss was also replaced by a new one made of steel.
Between 2003 and 2005, restoration works were carried out, as a result of which the tower's former glory was restored (tracery painting decorations were reconstructed, the viewing terrace and the clock were renovated), all facades (including the inner courtyard facades), four corner towers, and the roof were renovated. The building's illumination was also installed.