They were closed for 27 years. Cellars in Poznań Town Hall open

The refurbishment of the premises at Poznań Town Hall has been completed. The space will be open to the public from the first of March. An interesting feature is the opening of the basement of the building, which has been closed to the public for the past 27 years.

The official ceremony will take place on Friday at 6 p.m. On that day, the Poznań bugle call will be sounded several times. It will also be possible to see the Poznań goats more often – on Friday they will clatter not only at 12 o’clock, but also at 3 and 6 pm.

For the first time after renovation, it will be possible to see the ground floor and the Gothic cellar. An exhibition entitled “Poznań before Quadro” has been arranged there, which presents the history of the city from the 10th to the 16th century. The exhibition focuses on the period before the arrival in Poznań of the architect Giovanni Baptista Quadro, the author of the city’s symbol, the Renaissance City Hall.

Interestingly, years ago, the basement of the building was almost at market level. Over the years, the height of the square slab has increased, so that the former basement is now below. A court lodge dating from 1584, which housed the executioner’s inspectors, is open to the public. In fact, the cellars housed the torture chamber.

One of the most important elements of the cellars is the keystone (the place where the vaults meet), which dates the construction of the Town Hall to the beginning of the 14th century. It dates from the reign of Wenceslas II, King of Bohemia and Poland from the Přemyslid dynasty. The keystonedepicts a lion in a fighting stance – the Czech coat of arms,” informs the Poznań City Hall.

A new part of the ground floor arrangement is the Study Storehouse. Exhibits from the museum’s collection that relate to the history of the city and its inhabitants have been collected there. The exhibits include the red star removed from the obelisk on the Citadel, household appliances, historical costumes, documents and other small objects. It will also be possible to see the old goats, which were on the tower of the Town Hall from 1911 to 1992.

The city announces that educational activities will also be held in the Town Hall building. The building can be visited from 1 to 3 March by buying a discounted ticket (5 PLN normal, 3 PLN concessionary). From 5 March, the exhibition will be open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., on Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Fridays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The site will also be open on weekends from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The ticket price is 20 zlotys for adults, 13 zlotys for concessions and 1 zlotys for children and young people. Free admission will apply on Tuesdays.

source: UM Poznań

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