Town Hall, Toruń, Poland - SpottingHistory.com

Located in the centre of the Old City Market Square, the monumental Old City Town Hall is one of the biggest and most magnificent town halls in Europe. It is a monument to Toruń's glory as the former trade empire of Hansa. The construction began in 1274 and it was extended and rebuilt between 1391 and 1399 and extended again at the end of the 16th century.

Today Town Hall hosts the District Museum, which is one of the oldest and the greatest in Poland. Its origins date back to the year 1861 when the German Städtisches Museum in Thorn (Municipal Museum in Toruń) was established; on the other hand in 1876 Polish Science Society of Toruń founded another museum. It was only 1930 when these two were combined into one Municipal Museum. The museum exhibits were among others archaeological artefacts and the elements of old Toruń, Gothic art gallery, coins and mints etc.

References:

Visit Toruń

Palaces, manors and town halls in Poland

User Reviews

Zygmunt Borowski (5 months ago)
Toruń - jest jednym z najstarszych miast Polski (prawa miejskie uzyskał w 1233 roku). Miejsce urodzenia Mikołaja Kopernika. Zespół Staromiejski Torunia jest jednym z najcenniejszych zespołów zabytkowych w Polsce. W 1997 roku został wpisany na Listę Światowego Dziedzictwa Kulturowego UNESCO. Ratusz Staromiejski w Toruniu to główna budowla świecka Starego Miasta. Gotycki budynek powstawał etapami w ciągu XIII i XIV wieku. W roku 1703 w czasie oblężenia miasta przez wojska szwedzkie doszło do poważnego pożaru i zniszczenia ratusza. W latach 1722-1737 dokonano odbudowy. Ostatnie prace renowacyjne były przeprowadzone w latach 2003-2005, wtedy przywrócono dawny "blask" wieży - Toruń - is one of the oldest Polish cities (in 1233 the town was granted municipal rights). Nicolaus Copernicus Birthplace. The Old Town Torun is one of the most valuable historical monuments in Poland. In 1997, he was listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Old Town Hall in Torun is the main secular building of the Old Town. The Gothic building was built during the 13th and 14th centuries. In 1703, during the siege of the city by the Swedish army, there was a serious fire and the destruction of the town hall. In the years 1722-1737 reconstruction was made. Recent renovations were carried out between 2003 and 2005, when the former "glow" of the tower was restored.

Emilian Kavalski (10 months ago)
a beautiful old city hall building

Olexandr Lavoryk (2 years ago)
super

Zibbi Zibbi (3 years ago)
Super

SEBASTIAN SEBASTIAN (3 years ago)
Ok

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Guido Rudolph

Historic Site of the week

Lübeck Cathedral

Lübeck Cathedral is a large brick-built Lutheran cathedral in Lübeck, Germany and part of the Lübeck UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 1173 Henry the Lion founded the cathedral to serve the Diocese of Lübeck, after the transfer in 1160 of the bishop's seat from Oldenburg in Holstein under bishop Gerold. The then Romanesque cathedral was completed around 1230, but between 1266 and 1335 it was converted into a Gothic-style building with side-aisles raised to the same height as the main aisle.

On the night of Palm Sunday (28–29 March) 1942 a Royal Air Force bombing raid destroyed a fifth of the town centre. Several bombs fell in the area around the church, causing the eastern vault of the quire to collapse and destroying the altar which dated from 1696. A fire from the neighbouring cathedral museum spread to the truss of the cathedral, and around noon on Palm Sunday the towers collapsed. An Arp Schnitger organ was lost in the flames. Nevertheless, a relatively large portion of the internal fittings was saved, including the cross and almost all of the medieval polyptychs. In 1946 a further collapse, of the gable of the north transept, destroyed the vestibule almost completely.

Reconstruction of the cathedral took several decades, as greater priority was given to the rebuilding of the Marienkirche. Work was completed only in 1982.

The cathedral is unique in that at 105 m, it is shorter than the tallest church in the city. This is the consequence of a power struggle between the church and the guilds.

The 17 m crucifix is the work of the Lübeck artist Bernt Notke. It was commissioned by the bishop of Lübeck, Albert II. Krummendiek, and erected in 1477. The carvings which decorate the rood screen are also by Notke.

Since the war, the famous altar of Hans Memling has been in the medieval collection of the St. Annen Museum, but notable polyptychs remain in the cathedral.

In the funeral chapels of the southern aisle are Baroque-era memorials by the Flemish sculptor Thomas Quellinus.

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