LESZNO

The county seat is located approx. 80 km south of Poznań, on the road to Wrocław.

The town hall, from 1639, is the most seductive reminder of Leszno’s Golden Age of the Leszczyński family and John Amos Comenius. The massive body supports a lofty tower with a two-storey cupola capped with a crowned eagle (the emblem of Poland), the city coat of arms, and the dates 1547 (founding of Leszno), 1920 (city returned to Commonwealth), and 1931 (eagle placed on town hall tower). Chimes were installed in the tower in 2002. These were a gift from the twin town of Deurne, Netherlands.

The town hall’s current baroque-classicist appearance is a result of having been rebuilt after fires in 1656 (Marcin Woide), after 1707 (Georgio Catenazzi and Pompeo Ferrari), and after 1767 (Domenico Merlini). The town hall was rebuilt without making any architectural changes after the last great fire in Leszno in 1790. The last comprehensive renovation was carried out in the 1990s.

The oldest decorative detail on the façade is the bas relief representing law and justice over the main entrance. The coat of arms of Aleksander Józef Sułkowski and his first wife Anna Stein zu Jettingen sit above this while those of the Leszczyński family and the city sit below.

The entertainment rooms are on the high ground floor. The Municipal Artistic Exhibitions Office exhibition hall is upstairs and the cafe is in the stylish town hall basement.