The Town Hall in Słupsk was built in 1901, when the town (located in the northwestern part of present-day Poland, near the Baltic Sea, on the Słupia River) was known as Stolp, and was a part of the Prussian Province of Pomerania within the German Empire. The area where the neo-Gothic building now stands was originally a lake, filled in with sand from the Northern Wood in the second half of the 19th century.
The expansion of the city created a need for a new, bigger town hall. It was decided to build a new one; the site of the former hospital on Tuwima Street was bought, and an architectural contest was announced. In 1898, was selected the Old German Gothic design by Karl Zaar. The building, together with a few other monuments in Poland, portrays a lot of elements originating from an authentic interior decoration.
With no doubts, the most precious is the mayor’s room which due to its special construction is among the rarest projects in Europe. It is surrounded by 12 walls and is decorated with original furniture and an absolutely phenomenal tapestry. In the room of the second mayor, there is an impressive painting on the wall by Friedrich Klein - Chevalier which portrays hunting for salmons.
The town hall is mysterious and full of hidden places. For instance, no one knows what the hidden door in the conference room is for. As it later appeared, there is a tiny space behind the door where hardly a man can get. It is laughed at that the place was designed on purpose to hide spies noting the course of significant conferences. There are also numerous hidden passages and underground tunnels of an unknown use.
About the stamps
The first stamp, depicting a sunflower, is part of the series Flowers and Fruits, about which I wrote here. The second stamp is part of the series Mushrooms in Polish Forests (II), about which I wrote here.
References
Słupsk Town Hall - Wikipedia
Sender: Krystyna Betiuk (direct swap)
Sent from Słupsk (Pomerania / Poland), on 16.11.2015
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