Town Hall Tower in Strzelin

In the cellars of this tower a starvation dungeon survives, its walls covered with inscriptions and drawings by prisoners dating from the 16th century. Above it now rises the rebuilt town hall tower of Strzelin, more than 70 metres tall, with a viewing terrace over 40 metres up. Until a little over a decade ago only a stone stump stood in the market square, because in 1945 the tower was blown up on the orders of the town's last German mayor.

History: five centuries of fires and rebuilding

The town hall was probably built in the early 14th century on the site of a large merchants' house that predated the town's charter. In 1520–1526 it was remodelled in early Renaissance style, and after the great fire of 1548 it was rebuilt in 1564 with an attic parapet hiding the roof. The tower burned in 1619, collapsed in 1648, was damaged in the fire of 1706 and struck by lightning in 1817. During the last rebuilding it was lowered to 70 m and the parapet removed, and the town hall lost its Renaissance character. In 1945 the building burned and the tower was blown up. In the 1950s the ruins were demolished and the cellars filled in — only the square base of the tower, built of rubble stone, was left.

Back on the skyline

Research and conservation work on the ruins took place in 2004–2005. In 2010 the tower was raised with a polygonal shaft, and in November 2011 its dome was fitted. Between August 2020 and September 2023 the entire town hall was rebuilt in a form inspired by its 16th-century predecessor — it has more than 3,100 m² of floor space and houses the town council offices and a wedding hall. It was formally opened on the town's festival day, 23 September 2023, and in 2024 the tower opened as a viewpoint.

What you will see

• The viewing terrace (over 40 m) with a panorama of the town, the Niemcza-Strzelin Hills and the Wrocław Plain.
• A display of minerals from the Strzelin area, a permanent exhibition of photos of pre-war Strzelin and prints by the 18th-century Silesian draughtsman F.B. Werner.
• The starvation dungeon with prisoners' inscriptions — the best preserved are in the window recesses and on the stone door frame.

Interesting facts

Next to the tower stands a granite judges' table, where sentences were announced in public. It probably dates from the 15th century, was remade in 1739–1740 and is accompanied by a stone throne carved from Strzelin granite. It is one of only two such tables in Lower Silesia — the other is in Kochanów near Kamienna Góra. Nearby is a statue of an archer: the 1918 original went missing during the war, and the present reconstruction was set up by the Strzelin Hills Society in 2000.

Tripto tip

Confirm access to the tower and visiting hours with the Tourist Information Centre of the Strzelin Cultural Centre (ul. Mickiewicza 2, tel. +48 71 392 15 43, open on weekdays 8:00–16:00). Strzelin is about an hour from Wrocław — roughly 50 km, mostly via the A4 motorway and regional road 396. Allow about an hour for the square and the tower, then walk on to the Romanesque Rotunda of St Gotthard from the mid-12th century and the Powder Tower, the only surviving part of the town fortifications.