Koszalin City Hall

The Old Town Square was laid out in the 13th century. Together with the street layout typical of a medieval town, it forms a historic urban layout. In the center of the square, starting in the 13th century, three town halls were built in succession. The last of them was destroyed—like other municipal buildings—by a fire in
1718 (during excavations in 2009, archaeologists discovered its brick foundations). Two years later, another town hall was built in a different location, on the southern side of the market square, near the cathedral. Meanwhile, a monument to Frederick William I, King of Prussia, was erected in the center of the square—in gratitude for the assistance provided in rebuilding the city. It was also then that the first fountain, fed by a spring on Chełmska Mountain, was built on the market square. In a medieval town, the market square served primarily commercial functions; day-to-day business was conducted in stalls (cloth halls), which were most often attached to the town hall. Larger
markets and periodic fairs required a privilege granted by the ruling prince. Trade was supervised by
city councilors, and standard measures were kept there. The town hall, occupying the northern frontage of the market square, was built between 1960 and 1962 according to a design by Władysław Michałowski of Szczecin. The construction work, however, was supervised by Andrzej Boniek. The slightly protruding risalit houses the vertical circulation, and in its upper section—a clock surrounded by metalwork featuring the city’s coat of arms, crafted in modern times by Koszalin artisans. The top of the clock tower is crowned by a gloriette with a flagpole. The top, fourth story of the building is crowned by an openwork frieze, which serves as a nesting site for the ubiquitous pigeons. Due to the need for costly restoration of the building’s facade, it has been covered with a mesh screen. The building’s exceptionally original facade has become a hallmark of the modern city in all publications. In the history of Koszalin, it is the sixth municipal seat; the first three were built in the center of the market square, and the next two on the southern frontage (where the “Jubiler” store is currently located). Immediately after World War II, the Art Nouveau townhouse at 11–15 J. Piłsudskiego Street—built at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, with a distinctive coat-of-arms cartouche on its facade—served as the seat of the Municipal National Council.