The Town Hall

     On June 23rd Emperor Charles IV. gave the town a house which had belonged to deceased townsman Lukas on condition that it would be rebulit into a town hall. A drawing by Willenberg from 1602 which depicts the town hall in 1598 gives us more precise idea. A high prismatic tower with painted astronomical clock in the first floor stands next to the house with Renaissance gable. The tower was provided with suspension gallery over which a cupola with a lantern, poppy head and a star can be seen. This star which has been preserved up to now has occured on the top of the town hall since the Hussite Movement when Slaný was called ´a star´, Louny ´a moon´and Žatec ´a sun´. There were a large hall in the town hall - so called mazhaus - that served as a waiting room for those who came to talk with the counsellors and a hall where the town council met. There was a prison in the yard called Dobeška according to the first prisoner whose name was Dobeš. A pillory stood in front of the town hall to which the offenders were chained up.

     In 1751 Count Michal from Martinic let build a new town hall on the place of the old one. However it burnt down on August 2nd 1775. Nevertheless, the town built it during one year again. A new clock on the tower was established in May 1873. Large reconstruction of the town hall was carried out by architect Rudolf Štech in 1890 who modified it in Renaissance style. The town emblem made of sandstone according to the sketch of the painter Ferdinand Velc is located over the portal.