One of the central attractions of Vitebsk is the building town hall, where today the regional museum of local lore. The stone town hall dates from 1775 year and was built on the site of its wooden predecessors. It is known that Vitebsk received the Magdeburg rights back in 1597 and in the same period they began to build the very first town hall. However, she did not stand for long, as the city decided the rights to self-government in 1624, and that building was dismantled.
The stone version of the town hall, the second half of the 18th century, is made in the style popular at that time vilno baroque, but with a mixture of classicist architecture.
The dominant feature of the complex is the high tower with spire, which towered over the central part of the city. The administrative part of the town hall originally had two floors. For the first time, it housed a police station and a court, and the tower was often used by firefighters to monitor the security of the city. Since those times, the Vitebsk City Hall has even got a popular name - “kalancha".
After 1833, it was decided to rebuild the top of the tower. The sharp spire was replaced by a small rotunda with a clock and an observation deck. Another significant change took place in 1911, when the 3rd floor was built on and the town hall acquired the appearance that can be seen today.
Since 1924, the town hall building was given over to the needs of the museum, which has been working here for about 100 years.
In 1976, the reconstruction of the town hall began, which lasted almost 18 years.
You can visit the renovated museum from Monday to Saturday, from 10:00 to 18:30, telephone +375 29 210-22-61. Also, all guests of the city have the opportunity to climb viewing platform.
Vitebsk City Hall is located in the historical center of the city on Lenin street 32, next door to Resurrection Church.
To the left of the town hall there used to be a massive Church of St. Anthony of Padua, whose history will also be interesting to know.
