Town Hall

The Poznań Town Hall was initially built as the administrative center of the city established on the left bank of the Warta River in 1253. It was constructed in the Gothic style, with a one-story design and a raised quadrangle, with only the cellars remaining from the original structure. The building was expanded in the 15th century, and a tower was added to the northwest corner at the turn of the century. In the early 16th century, the town hall underwent a major renovation, led by architect Giovanni Battista di Quadro, who added an upper floor, extended the building westward, and added attic walls and a three-story loggia. The clock was also replaced, featuring three full faces and one half-face, and goats were added as a decorative touch.

In 1675, the tower, clock, and goats were destroyed by lightning, and the tower was rebuilt in 1690 to a height of 90 meters. The top of the tower was destroyed in a 1725 hurricane, and in 1781-1784, a renovation was carried out by the city's Committee of Good Order, resulting in the building's present-day form, with a classical-style tower roof designed by Bonawentura Solari and a white eagle with a two-meter wingspan at the top. The building underwent further renovations in 1910-1913 during German rule, with a more northern German style achieved through the use of black rustication, and an additional storey added, as well as the restoration of the goats.

In 1943, the town hall was the site of Heinrich Himmler's speeches, and it sustained significant damage in the Battle of Poznań in 1945. The building was reconstructed between 1945 and 1954, restoring its Renaissance character, and the eagle was returned to the tower in 1947. The mechanism driving the goats was replaced in 1954 and at the end of the century, and a renovation carried out between 1992 and 2002 largely restored the building to its post-1784 appearance.

Poznań is a city that is renowned for its daily mechanical goats' butting display, which takes place at noon and is preceded by the striking of the clock and the playing of the traditional hejnał bugle call. During other hours between 7 am and 9 pm, the same call is played on a carillon that was installed in the tower in 2003. This daily appearance of the mechanical goats is one of the city's most popular tourist attractions, attracting many visitors from all over the world.

There are two legends associated with the mechanical goats and the hejnał bugle call. The first legend states that a cook who was preparing a banquet for the voivode and other dignitaries burned a roast deer, and attempted to replace it by stealing two goats from a nearby meadow. The goats, however, escaped and ran up the town hall tower where they began to butt each other, attracting the attention of the townspeople. The voivode, who was amused by the spectacle, pardoned both the cook and the goats and ordered that two mechanical goats be incorporated into the new clock being made for the building.

The second legend involves the hejnał bugle call and tells the story of Bolko, the son of the tower's trumpeter, who once took care of a crow whose wing had been shot. He was then visited by a gnome in the middle of the night who thanked him for his kindness and gave him a small gold trumpet, telling him to play it in case of danger. When an attacking army was scaling Poznań's walls, Bolko remembered the gift, ran to the top of the tower, and played the trumpet. Dark clouds began to gather on the horizon, which turned out to be an enormous flock of crows that fell upon the attacking army and forced it to retreat. Bolko dropped the trumpet in his amazement, but the call he played still continues to be performed every day.

Retired Koziołki mechanical goats can be found in the Museum of History of Poznań City for visitors to admire and learn about the city's rich cultural heritage.

The building's front facing east has a three-story loggia with ornate decorations. On the ground floor, there are five pairs of female figures between the arcade columns, representing virtues such as patience, prudence, charity, justice, faith, hope, courage, and temperance. The last pair depicts two famous women from ancient history: Lucretia and Cleopatra.

A fresco with Latin text runs between the ground and first floors as a warning to judges. Below the first floor, there are medallions with figures from the ancient world, including Gaius and Tiberius Gracchus, Brutus, Archimedes, Vitruvius, Virgil, Homer, Justinian I, Horace, Spartacus, and the tyrannicides Harmodius and Aristogeiton.

The attic wall above the loggia features a list of rulers from the Jagiellonian dynasty, ranging from Władysław II Jagiełło and Jadwiga of Poland to Sigismund II Augustus. In the center is a small tower where goats appear for their daily display. A clock is located below the tower, connected to the mechanism that controls the goats, and below that is the monogram of Stanisław II Augustus ("SAR").