Main Town Hall

The town hall of Gdańsk has a rich and storied history, with the oldest remaining fragments of the building dating back to 1327 to 1336. At that time, the building was much smaller in size and its expansion was necessitated by the growth of the city and its changing needs. In 1346, the Main City of Gdańsk underwent reconstruction and replaced the Lübeck law with the Kulm law, which separated the roles of the city council and ława miejska (the judiciary). This separation led to the need for two separate halls for the two institutions and in 1357, a temporary town hall was established in the location of the current town hall.

In 1378, a major expansion of the building began after the full Kulm law was given to the city. The expansion was led by Henryk Ungerdin and was completed in 1382. Between 1454 and 1457, with the arrival of King Casimir IV Jagiellon, the town hall was expanded once again. The tower of the town hall was built between 1486 and 1488 under the leadership of Henryk Hetzel and was completed by Michał Enkinger, who added a high dome in 1492. Sadly, this dome burnt down in 1494. In 1504, the town hall was visited by King Alexander Jagiellon.

After a devastating fire in 1556, the town hall was rebuilt with Renaissance influences by Dutch architects and master-builders, including Wilhem van den Meer, Dirk Daniels, and Anthonis van Obbergen. In 1561, a gilded statue of the Polish King Sigismund II Augustus was placed at the top of the tower and a carillon was installed.

Unfortunately, the town hall was heavily damaged during World War 2 and lost the top of its tower. Despite this, it was carefully repaired and reconstructed and was largely complete by 1952.