Kaunas Town Hall
The Town Hall Kaunas (lit. Kauno rotušė ) is located in the former Lithuanian capital Kaunas and is one of three preserved historic town halls in Lithuania (the others are the Town Hall, Vilnius and the Town Hall Kėdainiai ). The town hall is located on the historic town hall square in Kaunas old town . The town hall tower is 53 meters high. The town hall is colloquially known as the “White Swan” because of its tall, white shape and is now used exclusively as a registry office (“wedding palace”).
history
In 1542, construction of the new town hall in Gothic style began after the previous building had been completely destroyed by fire. The building was completed in 1562. Originally it only had one floor, without a tower, but with vaulted cellars that also housed the prison. The second floor and the renaissance tower were added in the 16th century .
The town hall was also affected by the city fires in 1670 and 1732. It was reconstructed again between 1771 and 1780. The tower was raised by one floor. The architect J. Matekeris redesigned the facade and interior in the style of baroque and classicism .
In 1795, Kaunas fell to Russia during the third partition of Poland . The town hall was no longer needed. In the 19th century the building was used for various purposes, such as the premises of the Russian Orthodox Church , an ammunition depot and the Russian theater. From 1869 to 1944 the city administration was again located in the building.
Another restoration of the old building took place in the early 1970s. The old town hall has been used as a registry office since 1973. The last renovation of the town hall was made in 2005. The facade and the tower clock were renewed and windows and doors were replaced. In the basement there is a historical exhibition of the city museum.
literature
- Antanas pilypaitis. Kauno rotušė. - V .: Valstybinė politinės ir mokslinės literatūros Leidykla, 1961.
- Vytautas Levandauskas, Regina Levandauskienė, Žibartas Simanavičius. Kauno rotušės aikštė. - V .: Mintis, 1981.
Web links
- Museum in the town hall (Engl.)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Website of the city of Kaunas: Places to visit - Town Hall ( Memento of the original from October 21, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Lietuvos Respublikos nekilnojamųjų kultūros vertybių registras ( Memento of the original from August 18, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Register of cultural assets)
Coordinates: 54 ° 53 ′ 48.5 ″ N , 23 ° 53 ′ 10.3 ″ E