Market Square in Lwówek Śląski

The tower of Lwówek's town hall is exactly as tall as its south wall is long, and the whole building follows proportions of 1 to 3 — just like the square it stands on. The town hall is also larger than Wrocław's, even though the town today is small. It is a reminder of Lwówek's "golden age", when it ranked among the richest towns in Silesia; today it is known as Poland's Agate Capital.

A town with the right to brew

According to a document known from a 1407 copy, Duke Henry the Bearded granted Lwówek the right to brew beer and the mile right in 1209, followed in 1217 by town rights modelled on Magdeburg law. Until the Thirty Years' War it was one of the largest towns in Silesia, with the right to hold fairs, trade in salt and mint coins. A double ring of walls surrounded it, and in the 16th century guilds of clothmakers, bakers and shoemakers flourished. Lwówek was also known in the region for its beer — a tradition recalled today by the Lower Silesian Brewing Museum in the brewery cellars.

Roskopf's and Poelzig's town hall

The town hall's story begins in the mid-13th century with a two-storey Merchants' House; the word "town hall" first appears in documents only in 1356. The tower was built between 1480 and 1504, and in 1522–1524 Wendel Roskopf remodelled the building, though some scholars credit the design to Benedikt Ried, creator of the Vladislav Hall at Prague Castle. From around 1546 the Renaissance façade decoration with an oriel by the tower was added — so costly that some windows never received their ornamental surrounds. In 1902–1905 Hans Poelzig added the arcades and a staircase; after a fire in 1945 the building was rebuilt in 1955–1958 and restored in 2007–2010.

What to look out for

• The entrance hall with a single pillar and a late Gothic net vault; above the cellar stairs stand sculptures of a man holding compasses with the monogram T.L. and of the ducal couple Henry of Jawor and Agnes of Bohemia.
• Tombstones from the former Franciscan friary, gathered in the town hall in the early 20th century.
• The lion relief in the north-west corner, moved here from the Lubań Gate Tower.
• The four-faced clock — the first was installed in 1588; the old tower also held a prison and a torture chamber.
• The Lubań and Bolesławiec Gate Towers — the latter contains a dungeon about 12 m deep.

A clock you need to learn to read

The restored clock was set going on 11 July 2008 at the opening of the 11th Lwówek Agate Summer. Between 6:00 and 22:00 it strikes the quarters with high notes, and the full hours with four high strokes followed by the number of low strokes for the hour. Every day at 12:00, after the last stroke, the Lwówek bugle call sounds from the tower.

Tripto tips

Come at noon to hear the bugle call, and allow 1–2 hours for the square, walls and towers. The town hall houses the municipal office, a library and the local history museum unit — to see the interiors, contact the museum before your visit. In July the square fills up for the Lwówek Agate Summer, held since 1998, and the town's history also includes two battles fought on the Bóbr nearby in August 1813.