Residents of Bolesławiec, walking around their town or showing it to visitors, often come to the market square and stop in front of the town hall. After all, it is the central point of the oldest part of the town.
The tradition in medieval towns was to erect a special building for the town councillors. This was also the case in Bolesławiec. The first such building was erected after the purchase of the vogtship in 1340. It burned down during the Hussite Wars. A new brick building was erected in 1432. The Bolesławiec town hall was not placed in the middle of the market square, but clearly to the side of the marketplace. The explanation for this is directly connected with the course of the main trade route within the town, which, contrary to the prevailing principle, was not associated with any particular frontage of the market square but ran diagonally across it. This is indicated by the location of the two most important gates: the Lower Gate at the outlet of Prusa Street and the Upper Gate near 80 Sierpnia Street. The main flow of traffic along the east–west artery was to run diagonally across the market square, where it intersected with the merchants’ route from the south. Locating the town hall building away from the well-worn route was fully justified.
The town councillors took care of their seat and in 1524 began constructing a new town hall. The expansion was led by the distinguished builder and architect Wendel Roskopf from Zgorzelec. The work was completed in 1535. According to contemporary accounts, it was a two-storey building with rich interior architecture, containing rooms for the town council and trade. The Council Chamber was located on the first floor. Next to it was a courtroom and commercial stalls for linen merchants, shoemakers and furriers. Between 1741 and 1756, a Protestant prayer hall was also established here because the congregation had no place of worship.
The ground floor housed a wine shop with the tenant’s apartment, yarn stalls, the municipal weighing house and a wood store. The townspeople took care of the condition and appearance of the town hall. In 1665 and 1685, the more frequently used rooms and the wine shop were paved with Wartowice sandstone slabs. In 1659–1660, new window surrounds were made and the Council Chamber was restored; in 1722, it was decorated with paintings by the Legnica artist Jan Ignacy Knechtel. However, the tower was renovated most often, as it was damaged by fire as many as four times.
In 1776, a general reconstruction of the town hall began, giving the building its present Baroque appearance. The work was completed in 1781 with the construction of monumental stairs on the western side.
The present appearance of the town hall, following reconstruction in 1964–1967, differs little from the form given to it in the 18th century, apart from the removed barrel vaults in several rooms on the first floor and the construction of a new internal staircase.
Within the complex of structures connected internally by corridors and stairways, three separate building blocks of different volumes and differing decoration are easily distinguished. The smallest is the northern building, topped by an octagonal tower resting on a quadrangular base. The walls of this structure date from the 15th century and form the oldest part of the town hall. The lower square section of the tower and its upper octagonal shaft are associated with the Gothic period, as evidenced by an engraving from 1603. The stone balustrade and bulbous cupola with an opening date from the beginning of the 18th century. The other two buildings are Baroque in character; beautiful Baroque portals have survived at the entrances to the ceremonial secular hall and the “Sawanna” restaurant.
Today, the town authorities are carrying out renovations on the town hall. The beautifully renovated new roof is a pleasing sight. After the renovation, the town hall is to become the seat of the town authorities once again.