Old Town Hall in Legnica

With its double flight of steps, mansard roof and onion dome, Legnica's Old Town Hall looks more like a small Baroque palace than an office building. The city's guidebooks call it the finest building of its kind in Lower Silesia. It stands on the axis of the town's old main route, Najświętszej Marii Panny Street, and has been working for the theatre for almost a hundred years.

History: 164 years of council meetings

Legnica was granted the right to build a town hall by Duke Bolesław III the Prodigal in the 14th century. The first wooden council house, and later a brick Gothic one, both fell victim to fires. The present building was erected in 1737–1741 to a design by the local master builder Franz Michael Scheerhofer the Younger. The town council met here for the first time on 15 May 1741 and for the last time on 8 April 1905, exactly 164 years later, when the authorities moved to the new town hall.

A town hall turned theatre

The building was remodelled in 1836, and in 1926–1928 it was adapted for the theatre, gaining a low tower with a dome that had already been planned in the 18th century. Today the Baroque building is joined on the north side to the Neo-Renaissance theatre of 1841–1842, designed by Carl Ferdinand Langhans the Younger. The old town hall houses the offices and dressing rooms of the Helena Modrzejewska Theatre and, according to the city, exhibition rooms. It was entered on the heritage register on 29 March 1949.

What to see

It is best to walk around the building from the Market Square. A projecting central bay with two flights of external stairs marks the axis of the façade, the rusticated ground floor carries pilasters, and the mansard roof with dormers is crowned by an onion dome. Right next door stand the eight Herring Houses (Kamieniczki Śledziowe) from the early 16th century, built on the site of medieval fish stalls, with sgraffito decoration uncovered in 1934. The Baroque Neptune Fountain of 1731 stands beside the town hall.

Tripto tips

Fifteen minutes is enough to see the town hall from outside, but it is worth combining with an hour's walk around the Market Square: the "Quail Basket" house, the Mermaid Fountain of 1733 and the theatre. The interiors serve mainly the theatre, so access depends on exhibitions and events — check the Modrzejewska Theatre's programme before your visit. The most atmospheric option is an evening walk combined with a performance next door.