Old Town City Hall
The history of the Old Town Hall began in 1338, when King John of Luxembourg granted Prague’s Old Town the right to establish its own administrative centre. The original basis for the town hall became the gothic house of the wealthy merchant Wolflin of Kamen, for whom a stately tower was built in 1364. The Old Town Hall is associated with the most significant events in the country’s history. This is the place where the king of Bohemia George of Poděbrady was selected in 1458. After the Battle of White Mountain, the leading participants in a revolt were imprisoned here. Twenty seven of these were subsequently executed on 21 June 1621 in front of the Town Hall. When the four districts of Prague merged in 1784, the Town Hall became the seat of the city’s unified official administration. At that time, the building underwent many alterations. Weddings have been held at the Town Hall since 1871. At the end of the Second World War, the Town Hall was the focal point of an insurrection, and the Czech National Committee directed operations from its basement. On 7 May 1945, the Town Hall was bombarded by tanks. In the conflagration that followed, the eastern and northern wings of the building, opposite Týn Church, were completely destroyed. The tower with the Astrological Clock and a chapel were also heavily damaged.
The most valuable room in the Town Hall is the so-called Council Hall from the second half of the 15th century, where all important proceedings occurred. The joist ceiling, with its rich renaissance decoration of the lacunars from the second half of the 16th century and gilded chains, is authentic. The late-gothic console with an angel, which bears the legend Juste Iudicate Filii Hominis (Judge fairly, sons of man) is complemented by a high-gothic sculpture of the suffering of Christ from 1410. The municipal coats of arms above the portals and 46 guild coats of arms and 12 municipal coats of arms on the wooden panelling of the walls are authentic. The interior is completed with a baroque tiled stove.
The so-called Jiřík Hall and Brožík Hall on the second floor are worthy of separate attention. The Jiřík Hall gets its name from a bust of King George (Jíří in Czech) of Poděbrady. There are valuable paintings from the beginning of the 15th century on the walls. On the wall, there is a View of Petřín Hill by Karel Liebscher from 1902. The Brožík Hall took on its current appearance in 1910 and it is used as a conference room. It covers the entire ground plan of the building and the height of two floors. It bears the name of Václav Brožík, the artist responsible for two large oil paintings on canvas, which are displayed here. .
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