Drohobych. The Town Hall. An Excursion to the Clock Tower
Recently, excursions up the tower of the town hall have resumed in Drohobych.
Drohobych. Rynok Square. The town hall. An architectural monument
The residents of this Subcarpathian town invite guests up to the viewing platform to get to know it. And they themselves come to look at familiar places from a bird's-eye view; they say that the everyday and the ordinary are perceived quite differently.
Drohobych. A panorama of Drohobych
The theatrical torchlit ascents to the town's main tower have become traditional, when its surroundings are wrapped in the evening's veil, multicoloured lanterns flare up in the streets and parks, and in the sky — the stars.
Drohobych. The town hall. The town council
You can make the climb and hear the mystical tales and marvellous legends of the ancient Galician town with Mr Clockmaker and the Town Hall Watchman, or you can, as I did, admire on your own the unique views of beautiful Drohobych.
A panorama of the town. A view to the east, of Vuzka Street, of the choral synagogue, of the monastery of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul
A view to the north-east, of Stepana Bandery and Kovalska Streets
As we tackle the 156 steps, let us recall the history of the town hall.
The town hall. The clock tower. The compartment for the counterweights
The town hall. The clock tower. The stairs
The very first wooden building, where the town authorities sat, dates from 1475. The town, which received Magdeburg law in 1422, could not do without an organ of self-government.
A view of the town hall from Vuzka Street
The building housed the offices of the very first town governor and of the clerk — a secretary, in modern terms. In the chancellery, under the direction of the then head of the town, decrees and decisions were produced. Under one roof were the court, the archive and the armoury, as well as the treasury and the strongroom, the prototype of today's bank.
Up the stairs of the clock tower
On the magistrate's staff was a town executioner, and in the cellar were kept the breakers of the law. In front of the town hall stood a pillar of shame, to which criminals were tied for public condemnation. The tales have carried down to our days a legend that nine swords of justice were kept in the town hall. Each axe has nine heads to its account.
The counterweights of the clock
The wooden building had served out its age, and in 1829 a new town hall was built, whose walls did not stand even a century and also cracked. In 1913 a competition was announced for the best design of the magistrate, which caused a real furore among architects. But the events of the First World War postponed the realisation of the best of the best projects. In the mid-1920s, under the direction of the architect Marian Nikodemovych, three storeys were raised around the tower over the surviving part of the building.
The town hall. A view from the side of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity
The building, rectangular in plan, has an inner courtyard.
The town hall. The inner courtyard
The town hall has not lost its purpose. The building, with the status of an architectural monument, houses the Drohobych town council.
The town hall. The inner courtyard. The entrance
The blue-and-yellow banner, raised over the green dome in 1990, was one of the first in the country to be raised before the proclamation of Ukraine's Independence.
The town hall. The Drohobych town council
With each tier the diameter of the tower narrows.
The town hall. The stairs of the clock tower narrow on the last tier
Before the coming of the Bolsheviks it was decorated with sculptures of griffins, mythical creatures that symbolise power and dominion. Climbing the stairs, we make a small stop before the cabinet with the clock mechanism and examine the hanging counterweights that set it in motion.
The clock tower and the counterweights of the clock mechanism
The town hall. The clock mechanism
The clock mechanism in a special cabinet
Since 1475, the presence of a clock on the tower gave Drohobych the status of a very rich town. The striking of the hour at 10 in the evening meant that it was time to stop burning fires in the stoves. After the "lights out", the night watchman saw to the observance of the fire-safety rules and to the peace in the town's streets, chanting: "Hey, master householders, it's already ten on the clock, put out the light, go to sleep, you have to get up early tomorrow."
The clock tower and paintings with views of the ancient town
On the dial of 1927, an inscription in Latin script has survived: "The clock does not sleep, because you do not know what time it is now." The modern chimes, with dials on four sides, remind you of the fleeting nature of time every quarter of an hour.
The clock tower and the chimes
On weekends and holidays the trumpeters play the melody "Drohobych Listens to the World" on the tower every hour.
On the tower you can meet those very talented trumpeters who play the enchanting melody
For the trumpeters, whose duties in former times included warning the townsfolk of danger, an enemy attack and fires, a special room is provided.
There is a room for the trumpeters on the tower
And here is the conquered summit,
The viewing platform on the tower
and in the palm of your hand — all of Drohobych, ancient and modern!
The restoration of Rynok Square, part of Ivana Mazepy Street. By the town hall — a magnolia
A view of the northern part of the town, of Stepana Bandery Street
A view of the southern part of the town, of Rynok Square, Zavalna and Truskavetska Streets, of School No. 3
High up, before the panorama of the town, lovers uplifted by their feelings confess this to one another and make offers of hand and heart.
A view to the south-east, of Rynok Square, Vuzka and Ivana Mazepy Streets
A view to the north-west, of the Kostel of St. Bartholomew
A view to the south-west, of Boryslavska and Truskavetska Streets, of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity
You can get onto the town hall tower if you buy a ticket for 10 hryvnias at the tourist information centre, which is located in this same building on the ground floor.
Drohobych. The town hall. The tourist information centre
Here you will be told, free of charge, where to stay, where to have lunch or a snack, what to see and how to get here. To Drohobych run the suburban trains Lviv-Truskavets and Stryi-Sambir.
Address: town of Drohobych, Lviv region, 1 Rynok Square.
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