Town hall in Velvary, Town hall in Velvary, Czech Republic

The town hall in Velvary is a free-standing two-storey building with three wings, set beside the church of St Catherine of Alexandria on náměstí Krále Vladislava. Its hipped roof rises above the neighbouring houses. The main facade opens onto the square through three-part pillar arcades with cross vaults; the upper floor has seven tall windows with cornices, and the central axis is marked by pilasters with volute capitals.

Construction began in 1618, when the ground floor was built, probably by the Italian builder Santini Malvazione, with stonework by H. J. Bragatius de Serponto. The Thirty Years' War halted work, and the Prague builder Jan Wolf continued it in 1722–23. In 1793–1797 the town hall was enlarged and rebuilt to a design by Ignác Palliardi, who removed the mansard roof. Two office wings were added in 1854–1855.

The square in front of the hall is named Král Vladislav, and the building carries the house number 1. From 1861 the council granted honorary burghership to František Palacký, František Ladislav Rieger and Jan Evangelista Purkyně. Local associations, among them the teachers' society Budeč velvarská, the Hlahol choir and the Tyl amateur theatre group, had some of their seats in the hall.

The town hall stands on náměstí Krále Vladislava, next to the church of St Catherine of Alexandria, and is reached on foot; the square is open around the free-standing three-winged building. The ground floor opens to the square through three-part pillar arcades with cross vaults, so the facade and the tall keystone of the entrance portal are best seen from the square itself.

The builder Santini Malvazione put up his own house at Pražská 109, but debts forced him to sell it to the town, which adapted it as a town hall in 1699 while the square building was briefly in private hands. It now houses the Municipal Museum and the Jiří Kars Gallery.