The Wroclaw Town Hall is a late Gothic building, built at the turn of the 13th and 16th centuries. The Town Hall was neglected for many years, but in the 19th century it received a thoroughj renovation which was led by Karl Lüdecke, who added a new staircase and reconstructed the pinnacles. In the 1930s, another renovation was carried out by Rudolf Stein, who plastered the eastern part of the façade and designed new floors. Stein also removed the merchants' stalls that surrounded the town hall. During World War II, the town hall sustained moderate damage (the largest of which was the puncture of a floor by an airplane bomb, which, however, did not explode). Reconstruction of the town hall after the war lasted from 1949 to 1953 and was led by Marcin Bukowski; during this restoration, the east side gables and both west gables were altered and the roof truss was replaced with a steel structure. In the early days, the town hall held annual meetings of the townsfolk during which eleven jurors and eight councilors were elected. Later the building served a commercial role. [edit] Current status Currently, the Wroclaw Town Hall is one of the best preserved town halls in Poland. The City Hall houses the headquarters of the Historical Museum of the City of Wroclaw. In the basement of the town hall is the Świdnicka Cellar, the oldest restaurant in Europe.
Michal - 07.08.2008
