Town Hall

The Town Hall is the most important secular building of the city. Originally, an imposing gothic building stood on the town hall square, erected around 1380. This building was the seat of the City Council. It was a showcase of the Hanseatic city and proof of the economic successes of the townspeople.

The first town hall functioned in its original shape until 1807 and was destroyed during the siege by Napoleon's army. In the years 1829-1832, a new one was erected on its remains and with the use of the preserved fragments (one of the corners, cellars). The designer of the new neo-Gothic town hall was K. F. Schinkel. The building resembles a medieval castle with a defensive character. It has 5 small turrets and one soaring main tower with a clock face. At 9:00, 15:00 and 18:00 you can hear the city bugle call.

In the building, there is the Contemporary Art Gallery, and at the back of the building you can admire a stone column, which is part of the first Gothic town hall. The column served as the city pillory. To this day, a carved head with a legend is visible on it. According to legend, this head belonged to Jakub Adebar, who led the rebellion of the townspeople in 1524. This rebellion ended with the success of the townspeople, after which Jakub tried to take the seat of the mayor. Jakub Adebar was an extremely good-looking man who enjoyed success among young ladies and married women from Kołobrzeg. As you can guess, he was not respected among Kołobrzeg city councilors. The lust for power, unclean political games, and careless love affairs led Jakub Adebar to court. The conviction involved beheading the head with an ax. The execution was carried out behind the town hall, in the place where we can now see the head of Adebar. This sculpture was created as a warning to other townspeople. It was supposed to be a testimony to the justice and effectiveness of municipal authorities. Today the column is called Jakub Adebar. According to tradition, stroking her brings happiness and fulfillment of wishes.