Old Town Hall (Prachatice)

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Old town hall in Prachatice
Interior view with vault

The Old Town Hall in Prachatice (German Prachatitz ), a town in the Jihočeský kraj (South Bohemia) region in the Czech Republic , is a building that is essentially Gothic, which was rebuilt in the Renaissance style in 1570/71 . The town hall on the west side of the market square has been a protected cultural monument since May 3, 1958.

history

The Gothic part of the building dates back to 1448, when Ulrich II von Rosenberg had a magnificent castle built on this site. It was destroyed in the town fire in 1507 and remained in ruins until Wilhelm von Rosenberg donated it to the town in 1569. In the years 1570–1571 extensive renovation work was carried out, with the facade being designed using sgraffiti and chiaroscuro . The town hall tower burned down from a lightning strike in 1702 and was replaced by a larger tower in a new style. During the great city fire of 1832, the town hall, including the tower, clock tower and the skinned wooden tile roof, fell to rubble and ashes. The building was rebuilt in the 1830s and given a simple gable roof. Around 1840 the painter Jakub Faber was commissioned to apply new paintings based on the pattern of the original facade. From 1850 the building was also the seat of the newly established district court. The rear part of the town hall with the dungeon was completed in 1872. The tower, rebuilt in the 1830s, was dismantled again in 1884 due to its poor condition. The city museum was set up in the town hall from 1904 to 1940. After the district court moved in 1974/76, the building was used for the purposes of the district national committee of the then district office. It was only returned to the city of Prachatice as historical property in 2002 and has been used for administrative purposes ever since.

description

The town hall in the form of a palace expresses the wealth of the city at that time, which flowed from the salt trade on the Goldener Steig .

The six Latin inscriptions between the ground floor and the first floor describe the meaning and use of the state and the rights and obligations of its citizens, such as (German translation):

“A good citizen is someone who loves his home country and wishes that everyone is well and that they stay healthy. He should not be subservient, rude or exalted to others. In such a state everyone can live in peace and with honor. "

The sgraffiti above the windows on the first floor show the Rosenberger coat of arms held by two bears in the middle , two scenes from the Bible to the left (the Solomonic judgment and Susanna in the bathroom), to the right a court session with twelve judges and the punishment of a corruptible Richters, based on the dance of death by Hans Holbein the Younger . Eight virtues are depicted on the cornice.

The extent to which the painter Faber respected the original figures and ornaments during the restoration around 1840 is controversial. He repainted the cornice that fell in the fire. In the lower part of the facade, where remains of the original Renaissance paintings had been preserved, he apparently behaved fairly freely.

literature

  • Vladimír Hrabák: Stará radnice Prachatice. Old Town Hall - Prachatice. Old townhall - Prachatice. Prachatice 2005, ISBN 80-239-8304-0 (Czech pp. 1-10, German pp. 17-28, English pp. 30-38).
  • Baedeker Czech Republic. 6th edition, Ostfildern 2014, ISBN 978-3-8297-1474-7 , p. 164.
  • Justine Schüßel: Prachatitz: Architectural Monuments and Sights. In: Heimatkreis Prachatitz (ed.): Border town Prachatice. Verlag Heimatkreis Prachatitz, Friedberg bei Augsburg 1986, pp. 170–171.
  • Barbora Staňková: Prachatické radniční budovy (č.p. 1 a 2-3). University of Budweis, Budweis 2014, chapter “Stará radnice v Prachaticích” p. 15–38, entire work 95 pages ( PDF on theses.cz; Czech).
  • Gabriela Žabková: Renesanční nástěnná malba a sgrafito na fasádách domů v Prachaticích. Renaissance mural paintings and sgraffiti on the facades in town Prachatice. Diploma thesis, Prague 2011, section “3.6.1.3 Stará radnice čp.1” pp. 109–128, total work 283 pages ( PDF on is.cuni.cz; Czech with English abstract).

Web links

Commons : Old Town Hall (Prachatice)  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Radnice stará ÚSKP 46337 / 3-3384 in the monument catalog pamatkovykatalog.cz (Czech).
  2. ↑ a b c Staňková 2014, p. 18.
  3. ↑ a b c Hrabák 2005, p. 17.
  4. ↑ Staňková 2014, p. 32.
  5. ↑ Žabková 2011, p. 120.
  6. ↑ a b Hrabák 2005, p. 18.

Coordinates: 49 ° 0 ′ 45.1 ″  N , 13 ° 59 ′ 50.4 ″  E