Bardejov - Town Hall - nIGHT x01
The town hall was started to built in 1505 by Master Alexander. On the original Gothic foundations, the Renaissance floor and a beautiful bay window were built by the masters Alexius and Ján of Prešov.
The town hall was the seat of the town council, the centre of business, social and cultural life of the townspeople. The ground floor of the town hall served commercial purposes, while the upper floor contained rooms serving the needs of the town council and the town treasury. On the south-west corner of the outer part of the town hall, two hollow town measures, which were used to measure grain and pulses for sale, have been preserved. The municipal coat of arms and the initials of the then alderman were to guarantee the correctness of the measures. On the northern side, below the clock, is the coat of arms of the town and on the southern gable is a stone sculpture of Roland, the knight who protected the town's rights.
There are stone sculptures all around the perimeter of the town hall. They are also under the roof of the Renaissance bay window, where the most curious one is located. The central figure is a boy with his head between his legs and his bottom turned to the square. The origin of the sculpture is said to be that when the town hall was built, the builders and the town council agreed to pay a certain sum of money. The construction was completed by the agreed date, but the town council did not pay the agreed sum. So one of the craftsmen, under cover of night, added a sculpture of a little boy to the bay window, his bare bottom sticking out towards the house where the richtár used to live.
The most valuable parts of the town hall are the architectural details - portals, decorative decoration of the gables, entrance bay, staircase, murals, beamed ceiling in the town hall and painted signs, coats of arms and inscriptions, which document the combination of the late Gothic form with early Renaissance elements. This makes the Bardejov Town Hall the first Renaissance building in Slovakia.
In 1903 the town administration decided to establish a museum in the town hall. Its collections were opened to the public in 1907. Since 1990, an exhibition called "Bardejov - the free royal town" has been installed in the historical department of the Šariš Museum.
Bardejov - Town Hall - nIGHT x01
The town hall was started to built in 1505 by Master Alexander. On the original Gothic foundations, the Renaissance floor and a beautiful bay window were built by the masters Alexius and Ján of Prešov.
The town hall was the seat of the town council, the centre of business, social and cultural life of the townspeople. The ground floor of the town hall served commercial purposes, while the upper floor contained rooms serving the needs of the town council and the town treasury. On the south-west corner of the outer part of the town hall, two hollow town measures, which were used to measure grain and pulses for sale, have been preserved. The municipal coat of arms and the initials of the then alderman were to guarantee the correctness of the measures. On the northern side, below the clock, is the coat of arms of the town and on the southern gable is a stone sculpture of Roland, the knight who protected the town's rights.
There are stone sculptures all around the perimeter of the town hall. They are also under the roof of the Renaissance bay window, where the most curious one is located. The central figure is a boy with his head between his legs and his bottom turned to the square. The origin of the sculpture is said to be that when the town hall was built, the builders and the town council agreed to pay a certain sum of money. The construction was completed by the agreed date, but the town council did not pay the agreed sum. So one of the craftsmen, under cover of night, added a sculpture of a little boy to the bay window, his bare bottom sticking out towards the house where the richtár used to live.
The most valuable parts of the town hall are the architectural details - portals, decorative decoration of the gables, entrance bay, staircase, murals, beamed ceiling in the town hall and painted signs, coats of arms and inscriptions, which document the combination of the late Gothic form with early Renaissance elements. This makes the Bardejov Town Hall the first Renaissance building in Slovakia.
In 1903 the town administration decided to establish a museum in the town hall. Its collections were opened to the public in 1907. Since 1990, an exhibition called "Bardejov - the free royal town" has been installed in the historical department of the Šariš Museum.