Szczytno Town Hall

Szczytno Town Hall looks like a medieval stronghold, but it is a reinforced-concrete building from 1936–1937, partly erected on the ruins of a Teutonic castle. A 46-metre tower rises above the four-winged block with its inner courtyard, and inside is the Masurian Museum, where you can see, among other things, a model of the castle made in 1931. It is a good starting point for exploring central Szczytno.

History: modern building in castle costume

The design came from Königsberg architect Kurt Frick. The building was laid out as a quadrangle around an inner courtyard, with the tower in the south-east corner. Its defensive look was a requirement of the town authorities, who wanted the new town hall to stress continuity between the site's past and modern times. So the concrete structure was given a form recalling old fortresses, and it went up right next to the castle walls, on the former outer bailey.

In 1991 the town hall was entered in the heritage register. It still houses the municipal authorities, while the basement and ground floor of the east and south wings are occupied by the Masurian Museum, a branch of the Museum of Warmia and Masuria in Olsztyn (address: ul. Sienkiewicza 1).

What to see in the museum

• "History of Szczytno and its surroundings. From prehistory to the present" – a permanent exhibition opened on 5 July 2019. The prehistoric part shows items from the former Heimatmuseum Kreis Ortelsburg, from the Neolithic to the early Middle Ages.
• The medieval section, staged as a Gothic interior: a map of the Teutonic commanderies, an original edition of Caspar Schütz's "History of the Prussian Land" from 1592, a castle model made in 1931 by Wolfgang Kuschel and illustrations from the 1900 edition of Sienkiewicz's "The Knights of the Cross".
• The modern era – from a copy of the 1525 Treaty of Kraków and the town charter of 23 March 1616 to the destruction of both world wars.
• "Folk culture of the Masurians" and "Masurian folk tiles" – two more permanent displays.

At the entrance to the courtyard stands a bust of Henryk Sienkiewicz by Jacek Puget. The writer visited Szczytno in 1908, staying at the house of editor Kazimierz Jaroszyk.

Tripto tips

• Opening hours: 1 October–31 May Tue–Sun 9:00–16:00, 1 June–30 September Tue–Sun 10:00–17:00; closed Mondays, ticket office closes 30 minutes earlier (as of October 2026).
• Tickets: PLN 18 standard, PLN 12 reduced, family tickets PLN 40–50. Permanent exhibitions are free on Thursdays (June–August) and Sundays (September–May).
• Guide: museum PLN 70, Teutonic castle PLN 90, both PLN 120 (in Polish).
• Allow about an hour for the museum, then walk a few steps to the castle ruins. The full height of the tower is best seen from the town hall courtyard.