Liberec City Hall

{{Short description|Building in Liberec, Czech Republic}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}

File:Radnice Liberec 2005.jpg

Liberec City Hall ({{langx|cs|Liberecká radnice}}) is a large building in Liberec in the Czech Republic.

Location

The city hall is located in the historic city centre of Liberec (Liberec I-Staré Město district), on Dr. E. Beneše Square.{{cite web |title=Historická radnice|url=https://www.liberec.cz/cz/obcan/urad/orientacni-plany-budov-magistratu/historicka-radnice.html|publisher=City of Liberec|language=cs|access-date=2024-01-04}}

History and architecture

File:Liberec-Rathaus-Interieur-1.jpg

File:Reichenberg-altes-neues-Rathaus Liberec-nova-stara-radnice 1893.jpg

The city hall was built in the Neo-Renaissance style with elements of the transalpine Renaissance in 1888–1893. It was built according to the design by the Viennese architect Franz Neumann. It replaced an earlier structure, which was built in 1599–1603.{{cite web |title=City Hall Liberec|url=https://www.visitliberec.eu/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/town_hall_EN.pdf|work=Visit Liberec|publisher=City of Liberec|access-date=2024-01-04}}{{cite web |title=Radnice|url=https://pamatkovykatalog.cz/radnice-14939919|publisher=National Heritage Institute|language=cs|access-date=2024-01-04}}

The building has three towers; the highest of them is {{cvt|61|m}} high.{{cite web |title=Novorenesanční radnice v Liberci – klenot města pod Ještědem|url=https://www.kudyznudy.cz/aktivity/novorenesancni-radnice-v-liberci-klenot-mesta-po|publisher=CzechTourism|language=cs|access-date=2024-01-04}} The city hall is similar to the more famous Vienna City Hall. Its silhouette resembles a Gothic cathedral.{{cite web |title=Liberec|url=https://www.visitczechia.com/en-us/things-to-do/places/landmarks/cities/t-liberec|work=VisitCzechia|publisher=CzechTourism|access-date=2024-01-04}}

The building has a richly decorated façade, integrated artwork and rare stained glass windows. Above the entrance portal is a sculptural relief by Viennese sculptor Theodor Friedl, showing the establishment of the old and new city hall. At its centre is a female figure symbolizing the city; on the left side, figures associated with the original city hall, and figures associated with the emergence of a new city hall on the right, including the architect Neumann.

The front of the building is a bronze monument in the shape of a tank strip, commemorating nine victims of the invasion of the Warsaw Pact armies in August 1968.

From 1958, the city hall was protected as a cultural monument. Since 2024, it has been protected as a national cultural monument.

Use

Since its inception, the city hall has served as the seat of the municipal authority.

In the summer season, the interiors and the highest tower are open to the public and are part of guided tours.

References

{{commons category|Town hall in Liberec|Liberec City Hall}}

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Category:City and town halls in the Czech Republic

Category:Renaissance Revival architecture in the Czech Republic

Category:Buildings and structures in Liberec

Category:Tourist attractions in the Liberec Region

Category:National cultural monuments of the Czech Republic