ul. Zwycięstwa 21
Gliwice
The Municipal Hall building is the biggest and most distinctive structure in the centre of Gliwice, and originally had a different function. It was built in 1922–1928 as Haus Oberschlesien hotel (Upper Silesia House), an immense, four-wing edifice featured four floors with multiple luxurious premises. The main entrance to the reception area was from the side of the present Prymasa Wyszyńskiego Street (former Markgrafenstrasse). Management offices, shops and a hairdresser salon were on the ground floor, and 110 hotel rooms were upstairs. A spacious and elegant restaurant with a glazed veranda extending over a lawn was located on the ground floor, entered from the present Zwycięstwa Street. An entrance from Wybrzeże Wojska Polskiego Street (former Schillerstrasse) led to another restaurant, confectionery, bar and offices of various Gliwice companies. The first floor also contained a café and a famous ballroom with paintings of Silesia native Professor Adolf Munzer. The interior design was complemented by furniture from an artistic craftsman workshop in Nysa. The hotel was also renowned far beyond the city limits for its long and difficult construction and the luxury interior. Horst Bienek immortalised the inimitable charm of the hotel in his novel First Polish Woman.
The hotel was one of the biggest and most impressive in Upper Silesia until the beginning of 1945, when it was set on fire by the Red Army. The edifice was rebuilt when the city was taken over by the Polish administration and was used as a seat of the Presidium of the City National Council. Since 1989, it has been a seat of local authorities elected in democratic elections. The present building does not fully reflect its pre-war appearance. During reconstruction and later renovation, the building was deprived of its tall sloped roof, decorative architectural details on the massive body of the building, semi-circular windows and the arcades in the lower floor.
From the planning stage, the former hotel building was built to be surrounded by green areas. For this reason, today the Municipal Hall building, although situated in the centre of Gliwice, is surrounded by green squares.
Adaptations for people with disabilities. Additional information are available by telephone: 32 239 11 09, 32 238 54 37.
