City Hall Tower in Cracow

Medals available for purchase at the entrance next to the ticket offices!

The Town Hall Tower, standing in the western part of the Main Market Square, is the only remaining part of the medieval Kraków Town Hall and one of the most interesting monuments of medieval Kraków. This Gothic tower from the 14th century, built on a square plan from limestone blocks and brick, stands 70 meters tall and leans 55 cm from the vertical.

Visitors enter the 70-meter-high structure, made of brick and stone, via wide stairs flanked by stone sculptures of two lions from the palace park in Pławowice. The ground-floor hall once served as a treasury, storing the city council’s insignia of power and valuable gold, silver, and tin objects. Here, visitors can admire a unique set of stonemason’s marks called gmerks, dating back to 1444—a kind of collective signature of the craftsmen who completed the construction work.

Access to the upper floors is via narrow stone stairs embedded within the thick walls. The spacious first-floor hall is one of the most beautiful Gothic interiors in Kraków. Restoration has brought back its stunning ribbed vaulting, remnants of polychrome, and traces of gilding. Stone benches line the walls, with alcoves called almarias set deep into the masonry. These now display preserved stonemasonry details. In the summer season, this magnificent hall was recently used for temporary exhibitions. Soon, an exhibition on the history of Kraków’s local government and its main headquarters will be installed.

The second-floor hall is unfortunately not open to the public, as it houses the State Environmental Protection Inspectorate’s monitoring station. The interior, much taller than the first-floor hall, features a wooden coffered ceiling and is illuminated by three pointed-arch windows. The walls are brick with embedded stone architectural elements discovered during the tower’s renovation.

The third-floor room serves as a belvedere. Visitors can admire an exhibition of charming archival photographs by Ignacy Krieger, Henryk Hermanowicz, and Stanisław Kolowca, depicting Kraków’s Main Market Square in the early 20th century, as well as a giant photo titled Self-Portrait of Kraków’s Inhabitants at the Beginning of the Third Millennium, taken by Ryszard Horowitz on March 24, 2001.

The challenging climb to the highest recently opened floor is rewarded with a breathtaking panoramic view of Kraków. Visitors can also observe the city in detail through installed telescopes. Another attraction is the old clock mechanism in the center, donated by the Chamber of Crafts. Visitors can admire all its components. It’s worth noting that the current clock mechanism is radio-controlled, receiving signals from a transmitter in Mainflingen, ensuring atomic-clock accuracy. In case of a power failure, the clock stops and automatically resets once power is restored. It also adjusts itself for daylight saving time, requiring virtually no maintenance.

The basement still contains the walls of the former town hall cellars, which once served various purposes. The main cellar housed the famous “Piwnica Świdnicka” (Świdnica Cellar), also called “Indie” (Indies), where the city council sold beer and wine for profit. Its name came from the excellent Silesian beer imported from Świdnica. It survived almost until the town hall’s demolition but gained a bad reputation in the 18th century, with locals calling it the “pigsty.” These names even appeared in official records.

The cellar was separated only by a wall from the prison dungeons, which neighbored a torture chamber where interrogations were conducted using elaborate methods. The city executioner worked here, assisted by jailers who could extract any confession.

Today, the town hall cellars have two new occupants: the “Scena pod Ratuszem” (Stage Under the Town Hall), part of the Ludowy Theatre, and a café. Opening these interiors has given the city a new mysterious space where historical heritage and the massive brick structure create a unique atmosphere.