On the official website of Dawid Kobiałka, the mayor of Lwówek Śląski, a statement was published in December.
– I am personally a customer of Rycerska, and Mr Szymon and I are on good terms – the mayor explained. – I know that the Rycerska restaurant evokes memories for many of you. I do not intend to create a library, museum, space station or anything else there. It was a proposal put forward by a regionalist; I did not accept it and I do not support the idea – Dawid Kobiałka wrote Dawid Kobiałka.
Where did the idea of closing the Rycerska restaurant come from?
It all stems from a new concept for developing Lwówek’s town hall, which does not provide space for restaurant premises. The changes would involve moving the library to the ground floor and creating a fully functioning museum on the first floor, which would be intended to revitalise tourism and commemorate the value of the historic building.
The idea was proposed by Arkadiusz Gutka of the Monument Monitoring Association. The regionalist stresses that the town hall should be used as a cultural centre to promote the region, including by creating the Bóbr Valley tourism brand.
Cultural centre or restaurant?
The plan for the town hall’s new arrangement envisaged moving the library from the town hall to the ground floor, retaining the Wedding Hall on the first floor and creating a museum in the remaining part of the floor.
The aim would be to create a museum that would make use of the town hall’s historic interiors and provide greater exhibition and storage capacity, as well as enable cooperation with other institutions.
The changes would preserve the historic sequence of rooms in the town hall—the Great Hall, Burgher Hall and Deputies’ Hall—with unique late-Gothic vaults of their kind in Poland. The representative rooms would be accessible not only to visitors, but above all to local residents.
According to the plan, the library would be moved to the ground floor, replacing the restaurant. This would improve its accessibility for people with mobility impairments and seniors, while also enabling the development of the reading room and lending library.
The regionalist’s plan also took the museum’s economic potential into account. This would include the sale of souvenirs, room rentals, guide services and cooperation with regional tourism, which could strengthen the Bóbr Valley brand.
A historic restaurant loved by local residents
The old Lwówek Town Hall, formerly the seat of the authorities and court, now serves as a venue for cultural events and meetings with residents. Its interiors have a rich history of social life, especially in the years 1960–1990, when the unforgettable “Rycerska” Café operated there.
In the past, the establishment combined fine dining with a prestigious venue, hosting workplace celebrations, Christmas parties and dance evenings that became legendary. The heyday of Rycerska is remembered not only by local residents, but also by guests from all over Poland. Lwówek Śląski was famous for brewing and the “Rycerska” café.