Staroměstská radnice v Mladé Boleslavi Town hall

Welcome to the heart of Young Bloslav. Right now, when they put on their headphones, you're in a place where the history of the city is tangled with its current rhythm. You are standing at the north end of the Old Town Square and right in front of your eyes is one of the most important buildings in this city. It's Old Town Hall. Before we take a deeper look, pay close attention to this entire space. Feel the atmosphere as historical architecture touches modern life, which moves around you constantly. This building is not just a wall and a roof, it is a witness for many centuries who stands here and watches everything that happens in this city.

Let us now return together to the time when the foundations of this town hall lay. In order to understand its importance, we need to look at the time when the city was undergoing major changes. The entire construction of this important town hall took place in the years of a thousand five hundred fifty-four to a thousand five hundred fifty-nine. This was the period when architecture began to change and new, fresh influences from the south came to Czech countries. This town hall was built as a seat of the city council, a place where people's fate, rules and the future of the whole city were decided. It was a building of power, a building that was meant to express the importance and stability of Young Bloslav.

Now pay attention to the architecture you're observing right now. If you look at the overall shape of the building, you will immediately be interested in its style. It's a Renaissance building, which means that in its lines and proportions you seek harmony and order. A man named Matteo Borgorelli was behind this proposal. He was an Italian architect who brought his expertise to this place and a specific view of construction. Thanks to him, the town hall has this unique character that distinguishes it from other buildings around it.

Raise your eyes and look up to the towers. That's one of the most important elements you're seeing right now. The town hall has two towers and their diversity is fascinating. One of them is taller and has a clear four-sided shape. It acts strongly, stable and dominates the entire north end of the square. But the second tower is different. It's lower and its shape is round. This contrast between the square force of the higher and the finer, round form of the lower one creates a very interesting visual experience. It's like a conversation between two different characters that have to work together on the same building.

Now look closer, however, at the very walls of the building. If you approach the facade, notice the rich decoration. It's not just a plaster. The town hall is decorated with a technique called sgraffito. It is a strange way of working with the surface where layers of different coloured plaster are alternated and then scratched into the top layer to reveal the bottom layer. The result is beautiful patterns and paintings. Note that this decoration is not random. It contains biblical motives. These scenes and figures, which are depicted in the plaster, had not only their aesthetic value at the time of their creation, but also the spiritual and telling function. They were stories that people could easily recognize back then, and that gave the building depth and meaning.

But the history of this building didn't stop in the 16th century. The building changed over time, along with the needs of the city. If you look at the north side of the town hall, you might notice another important piece. In the year of a thousand eight hundred twenty twents a new part was added to the original construction. It's a three-story north wing that gave the city hall another scope and adjusted its overall appearance as you see it today. This change shows how the city's needs developed and how the city hall had to give way to more modern demands.

Although there are no names in the historical records of the specific personalities who made decisions in these rooms that we can easily access today, you can imagine the people who used to sit here at their official tables. Imagine the councilmen here discussing important things, trade, security, or new laws. This building was the heart of all official life. And even though her function was changing over time, her importance remained.

While the City Council used to be here, today you will find a completely different service. City Hall serves people in a different way. Today, the social affairs department, which takes care of the needs of the population, is also based here on environmental, education and culture issues. This means that this historical monument is not only a dead museum, but a living place which is a daily part of the life of the inhabitants of Mladá Byslav. It's a connection between the old world and the modern needs of society.

Something that might really interest you when you look at City Hall is the constant transformation. A building that began as a Renaissance seat of power became a place that today serves to care for people, their education and their culture. It's a fascinating journey from the political center to the center of social and cultural care. And the rich sgraffite decoration you saw is still there, and it keeps telling its old stories, even though the world around it has changed an incredible currency.

Now that you've gone over the main features of this monument, I suggest you continue your walk around the Old Town Square. Take a look at the other buildings surrounding this square and try to look for similar traces of history. You may be able to find other details you missed on your first visit. The Old Town Hall will still stand here as a silent guardian of history, and wait for other visitors who will want to enjoy its beauty and its stories. Thank you for joining us in this brief view of the history of Young Bloslav. We wish you a nice walk and many other interesting discoveries in this beautiful city. Goodbye.