Kraków Gate and Town Hall

On plac Kazimierza Wielkiego in Wieluń stands a building in which a medieval town gate has merged with a nineteenth-century town hall - today it is the seat of the city authorities and the only surviving gate of the former Wieluń.

The oldest part - Kraków Gate

Kraków Gate, also called Rudska after the route leading to the village of Ruda, was built in the 14th century at the outlet of the road leading to Kraków. It is the only surviving town gate of Wieluń. In the second half of the 15th century or in the 16th century it was extended by one storey; in 1587, during the modernisation of fortifications, it underwent renovation, and in 1591 another rebuild.

How the town hall came about

At the beginning of the 19th century, the old Gothic town hall standing on the old market square was demolished and it was decided to erect a new building, attached precisely to Kraków Gate at Krakowskie Przedmieście. The present late-classical town hall building was constructed in 1842 according to the design of architect Henryk Marconi. The entire complex, the town hall together with the gate, is entered in the register of monuments, first in 1949 and again in 1967.

Collapse and reconstruction of the tower

On the night of 18 to 19 March 1965, the upper part of the gate tower collapsed. It was rebuilt from its foundations only in the years 1969-1975, partly from limestone, partly from brick. A clock from the destroyed church of Saint Michael was installed on the tower - it had already been placed there in 1940.

Current function

The building serves as the seat of the city authorities of Wieluń - it houses the city office and city offices. Visitors view it mainly from the outside, as part of the historic development of plac Kazimierza Wielkiego.

In the vicinity

A few dozen metres from the town hall, on the city lawns, stands a sculpture Eternal Love by Wojciech Siudmak, born in Wieluń.

A fragment of the former fortifications can be seen at the city walls.

Standing near them is Baszta Męczarnia, one of the surviving defensive towers.

On the other side of the lawns are the ruins of the powder house.

Nearby grows a monumental Kosciuszko Oak.

Practical information

• Address: plac Kazimierza Wielkiego 1, Wieluń
• Getting there: old town centre of Wieluń, at the main square of the city
• What to expect: historic town hall complex with gate viewed from the outside, the building houses the city office