Old town hall, Cultural monument in Kostelec nad Orlicí, Czech Republic.
The Old Town Hall is a corner building on Palackého náměstí, originally Renaissance from 1574, later rebuilt in Baroque and Neoclassical styles. It has an L-shaped plan, one upper floor and a saddle roof. The south facade features a wide stone portal, a balcony with cast-iron railing, and a triangular tympanon with a relief cartouche bearing a crowned double-tailed lion. A square clock tower with a lantern and spire rises above.
The Old Town Hall began as a Renaissance burgher house built in 1574, when cloth production brought the town enough prosperity to afford a representative seat. It was rebuilt in Baroque style in the 17th century, and its tower dates from 1694. The present Neoclassical form was given to it between 1810 and 1824. It later housed a museum and since 2020 has served as a basic art school.
The building carries a memorial plaque with a bust of the Baroque composer František Ignác Antonín Tůma, a native of Kostelec nad Orlicí. Since 2020 the former town hall has housed the town's základní umělecká škola, a primary art school where children learn music.
The Old Town Hall stands on the corner of Palackého náměstí, with its main facade facing the square and a second front on Tyršova street. The building now houses a základní umělecká škola (primary art school), so visitors see the exterior, the stone portal, the balcony and the clock tower rather than interior rooms.
A memorial plaque with a bust of the Baroque composer František Ignác Antonín Tůma is mounted on the building, a detail easily missed by visitors heading straight for the tower clock. The tower itself dates from 1694 and is topped by a lantern with a tall cone and a finial orb.
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