The Old Town Hall - The District Museum in Toruń

Located in the heart of the historic Old Town of Toruń, the Old Town Hall is not only one of the most important historic buildings in the city, but also one of the largest and most beautiful constructions of this type in Europe. Built on a square plan with an inner courtyard, it is a symbol of the Gothic Old Town Complex which became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

For centuries, the Old Town Hall was the centre of trade and the city’s public and political life. The Town Hall was also the main centre of judicial power and the seat of the city council. It was the place where rulers were officially hosted – the great masters of the Teutonic Order, and foremost the kings of Poland for whom the hall served as a temporary residence. Because of this, one of the rooms on the first floor is called the Royal Hall. It was also the place where King Jan Olbracht died in 1501. The walls of the Old Town Hall bore witness to great many historical events: in 1454, the envoys of the Polish king Casmir IV Jagiellon received an oath of loyalty from the representatives of the estate of the lands of Prussia, and in 1645, Catholics and Protestants met together at the invitation of King Władysław IV Vasa for a so-called “brotherly conversation” (colloquium charitativum). The proceedings of Prussian sejmiks (dietines), and even Polish sejms (diets) were held here in 1520, 1576 and 1626, as well as those of the land courts for the Chełmno region.

Currently, the Old Town Hall is the main seat of the District Museum in Toruń and a venue in which many celebrations, cultural events, and other gatherings are organised. The Hall houses such attractions as the Gallery of Gothic Art, with its collection of unique 14th-century stained glasses, an exhibition presenting the history and artistic handicrafts from the period of 1233-1793, an exhibition on the mints and coins of Toruń from the period of 1233/1238-1765, the Grand Hall with a gallery of portraits of prominent Toruń patricians (from the period of 16th-18th century), including a portrait of Nicolaus Copernicus – probably the most famous image of the astronomer in the world, as well as the Royal Hall with the oldest collection of Polish kings’ portraits, a jewellery collectionsreferred to as the Skrwilno Treasureand the Nieszawa Treasure, and an impressive gallery of Polish paintings from mid-18th century to 2010, which includes works of Jan Matejko, Wojciech Gerson, Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, Jacek Malczewski, Julian Fałat, Andrzej Wróblewski and Zdzisław Beksiński.

muzeum.torun.pl