Jawor Town Hall

In 1895 Jawor's town hall burned almost to the ground – only the medieval tower survived. Within two years a new neo-Renaissance building rose around it, and its council chamber was fitted with stained-glass windows still regarded as the largest in any secular building in Lower Silesia. The town hall is still the seat of the municipal authorities, and the interiors can be visited on weekdays.

History: five centuries in one tower

The town hall was first mentioned in a weavers' charter of 1373. In 1394 the town hall tower was built as a symbol of the town's independence and wealth. Over the centuries the tower served many purposes: it was a lookout for fires, held the town's only clock, and housed the treasury, archive and jail. The town hall itself was rebuilt in 1617 and 1846, and in 1895 a fire left only the tower standing.

The new town hall was built in 1895–1897 to designs by the Berlin architect Herman Guth (1851–1924), who also designed the town hall in Tarnowskie Góry – hence the clear resemblance between the two. The building was ceremonially opened on 22 November 1897.

What to see

• The Gothic tower, about 65 m high – square in its lower section and octagonal above, with a gallery, gargoyles in the form of grotesque masks and a Baroque cupola with a double lantern.
• Statues of knights with heraldic shields on the corners of the tower, representing rulers of Jawor – among them King Wenceslas IV of Bohemia, Duke Bolko II the Small and his brother, Duke Henry II.
• The articulated building in Dutch neo-Renaissance style, with two massive wings and a rusticated stone base.
• The council chamber with stained glass made in 1897 at the Berlin Institute of Stained Glass to designs by Julius Jurs.

The market square around the town hall

The town hall stands in the middle of a rectangular market square measuring 140 × 65 m, lined with arcaded townhouses. The oldest houses, from the 16th to 18th centuries, survive on the south side – look for no. 23 with its distinctive oriel. On the west side, find no. 8 with a beehive depicted on its facade. The east side and part of the north side were destroyed in 1945 and rebuilt in the early 1960s.

Tripto tip

The town hall interiors are open Monday to Friday from 8:00 to 15:00 (tel. +48 76 870 20 21) – at weekends you can only see the exterior. About an hour is enough for the town hall and square. Be sure to add the Church of Peace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001, and the Gothic Church of St Martin – both in the town centre; the Church of Peace can be visited in season without prior booking.