Town Hall of Görlitz

In 1591 a stone Lady Justice was added - a symbol of high Jurisdiction of the cities council.

[2][1]: 344 The heraldic relief from 1488 by King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary and Bohemia indicates the affiliation to Upper Lusatia[1]: 344 .

[1]: 341 In 1369 the town hall was first mentioned in a report by the Görlitz council to the Emperor Charles IV, when a craftmans revolt was described: Do besapten si sich noch stercker und kommen vor das Rathaus… They got more drunk and come to the town hall...

[1]: 335  The room behind served as the mayor's official residence and was recognizable as such from the outside due to its high location.

Further reconstruction measures were carried out in the 19th century axially aligned the window heights of the upper floors.

In 1511 to 1516 the tower was raised by superintendent of city construction Albrecht Stieglitzer to today's height.

[5] The historian Richard Jecht reports the lions roar was deactivated, because "pregnant woman were freightened" by it.

July 1742 a lightning strike destroyed the upper parts of the tower, which were reconstructed shortly afterwards.

A plaster cast of the larger one is preserved to this day and is located in the bay window of the town hall.

[1]: 344 Today, the town hall tower can be visited and offers a great view of Görlitz.

[6] The Town Hall Staircase erected in 1537 by Wendel Roskopf is a masterpiece of the early Renaissance in Germany.

[2] The current Lady Justice is a copy from 1952 made by Werner Hempel, because the original sculpture was brought to safety across the Lusatian Neisse but never returned after World War II.

Görlitz began coinage in 1449 and bought the building next to the town hall: Lower Market Square 7.

[7]: 267  From 1500 onwards, polish coins flooded the region due to the massive export of cloths by tradesmen while the quality of Görlitz-Pfennig decreased.

This amount led to massive quality deduction so other cities began producing Görlitz-coins, making the original coins worthless.

In contrast to the market front, side and the rear facade were simply covered with white tiles.

The town hall enthrones on several baroque portals, which come from the two residential houses that had to give way to the construction.