Town Hall in Nowe Warpno
● Nowe Warpno
The half-timbered building was erected in 1627 on the site of its predecessor, which had been destroyed by fire. The town hall has served as the seat of the municipal government since its inception.
The town hall is located in the northwestern part of Nowe Warpno, in the center of Plac Zwycięstwa, which is bordered by ul. Warszawska to the northeast and ul. Kościuszki to the southwest. Magnificent linden trees grow in front of the town hall.
The date of construction of the first town hall in Nowe Warpno is unknown. The first mention of a town hall dates back to 1556, when, following the town fire of 1555, reconstruction of the town began thanks to the grants made by Duke Philip I (the settlement was granted, among other things, rights to the island of Kahleberg, now called Łysa Wyspa or Ptasia Wyspa), the town’s reconstruction began. Documents from that time also mention a Gothic town hall. The foundations of the current town hall are remnants of the Gothic one. Nowe Warpno was ravaged by fires many times. In the next fire, in 1692, the town hall burned down again. Subsequently, in 1697, the current town hall was built in the Baroque style. The building was constructed using the half-timbered technique common at the time.
The shape and architectural composition of the facade have been completely preserved to this day. The few renovations carried out since its construction involved repairs to small facade elements and minor changes to the building’s interior. In 1885, among other things, the door frames were replaced, some basement ceilings were renewed, the tower walls were reinforced, and the facade was re-plastered. A 20th-century fire station is attached to the northeast wall of the town hall. It was originally built entirely of half-timber. It currently houses the offices of the municipal administration. From the very beginning, the town hall served as the seat of the municipal administration. It continues to fulfill its original function today. It is a unique structure and the most valuable historical monument in Nowe Warpno. It is also likely the only town hall of its kind in Poland that still serves its original purpose today. The town hall was built on stone and brick foundations that originally formed the base of the Gothic town hall. The framework of the walls consists of brown-toned oak. The spaces between the timbers are filled with ceramic bricks. The roof truss was constructed using the rafter-collar beam technique with roof truss supports on both sides. The structural base of the spire consists of eight load-bearing columns, which are braced by intersecting struts and secured at the bottom—on two levels—with clamps. The tower features a clock whose movement was manufactured in 1922 in Berlin at the Georg Richter Tower Clock Factory.
The tower itself and the ridge turret of the former fire station are clad in galvanized sheet metal. The tower offers a beautiful view of Lake Nowowarpieńskie, the Podgrodzie district, Altwarp, and the town itself. The town hall is listed in the register of historic monuments. Its volume is approximately 2,840 m³ and its floor area is 285 m².
Because it continues to serve its original function (as the seat of the municipal administration), the building is not open to the public for self-guided tours. The building is open only during office hours. Without causing any major disruption, visitors can enter the foyer and the office corridors, the city council chamber, and the wedding hall; however, gaining access to the tower or the offices will not be so easy.