Town Hall – Museum of Poznan

Museum temporarily closed to visitors due to renovation works. In March 2023, the Gothic cellars and the ground floor of the building—the result of the first stage of works—will be open to visitors. This will mean that visitors will be able to see a new exhibition there, presenting the history of Poznan from the 10th to the mid-16th century, as well as the history of the City Hall.

City Hall – Museum of Poznan has been located in the City Hall—the former seat of the municipal authorities—since 1954. The origins of this building date back to the early years of the 14th century. Originally it was a small, one-storey building to which a single storey was added at the end of the 15th century. In the middle of the 16th century, the municipal authorities entrusted its reconstruction to the Italian architect Giovanni Baptista Quadro of Lugano. He transformed the modest Gothic town hall into a magnificent representative seat of the municipal authorities in the years 1550–60. The building was then enlarged to the west and a second floor was added. The building was given a uniform Renaissance exterior and a new interior layout with a magnificent Renaissance Hall, famous for its beautiful stucco decoration decorating the vault.

In the following centuries, the Town Hall tower was destroyed and rebuilt several times. In 1781-1784, thanks to the efforts of the Good Order Commission, the entire building underwent restoration; a new classicist tower cupola was erected. The town hall underwent another thorough restoration between 1910 and 1913. This Prussian restoration saved the building from complete ruin. In 1945, as a result of the war effort, the tower collapsed and the second floor of the building was burnt down. The Town Hall owes its present appearance to restoration work, which was completed in December 2000.

The exhibition of the Town Hall – Museum of Poznan, located both in the basement and on the ground floor as well as in the rooms on the first and second floors of the Town Hall, presents the history of the city from the 10th century to the present day and the history of the Town Hall. The most valuable exhibits include a gilded and enamelled Limoges pastoral from the 13th century, a table clock with the coat of arms of Poznan made in 1575 by the Poznan clockmaker Jan Stall, commissioned by the municipal authorities of the time, and a shoemakers' guild glass from 1651. The Museum's holdings are constantly growing with new objects, which are accepted as donations and acquired through purchases. The common denominator of them all is, of course, Poznań: the history of the city and its inhabitants. Due to the specific character of these objects, they have been divided into collections: city views and plans, photographs of people, documents and historical memorabilia, crafts and objects of everyday use, local entrepreneurship, art, cameras and photographic equipment, Wielkopolska's Fowler Brotherhood marksmen fraternities, journalistic photography by Jerzy Unierzyski and archaeological artefacts.

Current museum exhibitions

Venue description

Museum temporarily closed to visitors due to renovation works. In March 2023, the Gothic cellars and the ground floor of the building—the result of the first stage of works—will be open to visitors. This will mean that visitors will be able to see a new exhibition there, presenting the history of Poznan from the 10th to the mid-16th century, as well as the history of the City Hall.

City Hall – Museum of Poznan has been located in the City Hall—the former seat of the municipal authorities—since 1954. The origins of this building date back to the early years of the 14th century. Originally it was a small, one-storey building to which a single storey was added at the end of the 15th century. In the middle of the 16th century, the municipal authorities entrusted its reconstruction to the Italian architect Giovanni Baptista Quadro of Lugano. He transformed the modest Gothic town hall into a magnificent representative seat of the municipal authorities in the years 1550–60. The building was then enlarged to the west and a second floor was added. The building was given a uniform Renaissance exterior and a new interior layout with a magnificent Renaissance Hall, famous for its beautiful stucco decoration decorating the vault.

In the following centuries, the Town Hall tower was destroyed and rebuilt several times. In 1781-1784, thanks to the efforts of the Good Order Commission, the entire building underwent restoration; a new classicist tower cupola was erected. The town hall underwent another thorough restoration between 1910 and 1913. This Prussian restoration saved the building from complete ruin. In 1945, as a result of the war effort, the tower collapsed and the second floor of the building was burnt down. The Town Hall owes its present appearance to restoration work, which was completed in December 2000.

The exhibition of the Town Hall – Museum of Poznan, located both in the basement and on the ground floor as well as in the rooms on the first and second floors of the Town Hall, presents the history of the city from the 10th century to the present day and the history of the Town Hall. The most valuable exhibits include a gilded and enamelled Limoges pastoral from the 13th century, a table clock with the coat of arms of Poznan made in 1575 by the Poznan clockmaker Jan Stall, commissioned by the municipal authorities of the time, and a shoemakers' guild glass from 1651. The Museum's holdings are constantly growing with new objects, which are accepted as donations and acquired through purchases. The common denominator of them all is, of course, Poznań: the history of the city and its inhabitants. Due to the specific character of these objects, they have been divided into collections: city views and plans, photographs of people, documents and historical memorabilia, crafts and objects of everyday use, local entrepreneurship, art, cameras and photographic equipment, Wielkopolska's Fowler Brotherhood marksmen fraternities, journalistic photography by Jerzy Unierzyski and archaeological artefacts.

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