Siedlce Town Hall ("Jacek")

At the top of the Siedlce town hall tower stands Atlas carrying a golden globe, and for generations locals have simply called him "Jacek". The whole building goes by the same name – a late Baroque and Neoclassical town hall from 1763–1773, the symbol of Siedlce and home of the Mieczysław Asłanowicz Regional Museum.

History: from the Czartoryskis to a museum

The town hall was built on the orders of the town's owner, Prince Michał Fryderyk Czartoryski. The design is attributed to either Johann Sigmund Deybel or Carl Gottlieb Schütz. Under Aleksandra Ogińska, née Czartoryska, the building was extended: a commercial section was added, a clock was fitted to the tower, and the royal mathematician Father Adam Kukiel installed one of the first lightning conductors in Poland – the museum says it was the second in the country.

The building served as the town hall until 1862. It then became an Orthodox church for the 5th Kiev Grenadier Regiment, an archive and a library, and until 1939 it housed shops and workshops. After a fire in 1888 the town built a New Town Hall, and in 1928 a museum opened in the old one. The bombing raids of 7–8 September 1939 destroyed the municipal offices and the New Town Hall, but "Jacek" survived; it burned only in 1944 and was rebuilt in 1945–1952.

The legend of Jacek the blacksmith

Legend says the statue was modelled on Jacek, a strong blacksmith who repaired the axle of Princess Ogińska's carriage with one hand and was taken into her service. While the town hall was being built, he fought with the master builder, who fell from the scaffolding. The princess secured a milder punishment for him – exile – and he was immortalised with a heavy globe on his shoulders. The statue weighs 600 kg. On 31 January 2000 a gale blew it down; it returned to the tower on 31 August that year. It was restored again in 2021–2023 at a cost of PLN 165,000.

What to see

• The octagonal tower with clock faces on four sides and Atlas on top.
• The permanent exhibitions: "Siedlce History 1441–1939", the archaeological "Hidden in the Ground", a gallery of Polish art and a furnished village room from the Siedlce area.
• Tadeusz Kościuszko Square – the former market square, with a monument in front of the town hall.

Tripto tip

A standard ticket costs PLN 8, a concession PLN 4. From April to September the museum opens on Tuesdays and Fridays 10:00–18:00 and on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays 10:00–16:00; from October to March it opens daily except Saturdays, 10:00–16:00. Allow about an hour for the exhibitions. The best view of Jacek is from Kościuszko Square.