Drohobych is a town known not only as the place where Bruno Schulz (1892–1942) lived, but also as one of the most important centres of the petrochemical industry during the interwar period, as well as the most motorised town in Poland at that time.

The town of Bruno Schulz, the petrochemical industry and the motor industry

Drohobych – Bruno Schulz’s hometown, situated on the Tyśmienica River in the Beskid Brzeżny mountains – held the status of a county town in the Lviv Voivodeship during the interwar period. It was a multi-ethnic centre, known as ‘one and a half towns’, due to the fact that Jews, Poles and Ukrainians made up roughly equal proportions of the population. The town was home to the largest synagogue in Galicia, built in the mid-19th century.

Above all, however, Drohobych in the interwar period was one of the most important centres of the petrochemical industry. Oil was extracted here by the state-owned ‘Polmin’ and the private company ‘Galicja’. In 1926, the town became part of the Stryj–Stebnik gas pipeline, and in 1933 it was connected to the water mains. Drohobych was also one of the most motorised towns in interwar Poland. The streets were filled with the latest models of Bentleys, Mercedes, Fiats, Packards and Austro-Daimlers; among those driving a state-of-the-art black Packard was Rajmund Jarosz, mayor from 1932 to 1935.

The town’s transformation was linked to new construction projects, the most striking example of which is the new town hall building on the Market Square, built between 1927 and 1929.

The history of the town hall – from a wooden building to modernised Classicism

The first, wooden town hall in the centre of Drohobych’s Market Square was erected in the 15th century, following the granting of town privileges by Casimir the Great. Shortly afterwards, a three-storey brick building with a tower and a clock was constructed. In the 17th century, the town hall was extended in the Baroque style; however, in 1829, the building was demolished due to its poor structural condition, and a new, single-storey town hall was built in its place according to a design supplied from Vienna. The rather unattractive, barracks-like architecture of this building led to plans for a further reconstruction shortly before the outbreak of the First World War.

In 1913, the town council, in consultation with the Polish Architects’ Association, organised an architectural competition, which caused quite a stir amongst Galician architects due to the large number of entrants. However, no first prize was awarded; instead, two second prizes were awarded (to Antoni Budkowski from Kobierzyn and Ferdynand Liebling from Kraków). Critical comments regarding the way the competition was conducted appeared in the specialist press, and the project was ultimately never carried out due to the outbreak of the First World War.

The issue of the redevelopment was revisited in the 1920s. Efforts to secure this project were led by the city authorities, headed by Mayor Leon Reutt. The architectural design was produced by the eminent Lviv architect Marian Nikodemowicz (1890–1952 ) , a graduate of the Faculty of Architecture at Lviv Polytechnic, and the designer of projects such as the Central Spa House in Morszyn and the Abrahamowicz Dormitory in Lviv. The old building was partially demolished and rebuilt according to the new design; amongst other things, a third storey was added. The consecration and grand opening of the town hall took place on 29 September 1929.

The architectural style of the town hall

The architecture of the town hall is in the style of modernised Classicism. The prominence of the façade is emphasised by a rather prominent avant-corps with a recessed portico and a triangular pediment. The portico features two pairs of pilasters of the major orders with Ionic capitals, though stylised in an archaic-folk style. The remaining façades are punctuated by a calm rhythm of window openings with varied frames – at basement level in semicircular panels; at the level of the raised ground floor, topped with such panels; and on the first floor with tall, triangular pediments. The quasi-expressionist character of these pediments, the diamond-shaped window frames in the avant-corps and the geometric pattern of the window grilles on the ground floor bear witness to stylistic inspirations drawn from the so-called Kraków School.

An open courtyard was planned at the centre of the building, whilst the most prestigious room was the marble hall – the venue for City Council meetings. Externally, the building’s function was emphasised by a tall, slender, octagonal tower with a viewing terrace and a Baroque-style spire. The terrace offered a view of the entire town.

Mścisław Mściwujewski wrote about the tower in his 1929 book *The Royal Free City of Drohobych* : “High above the whole city and the surrounding area rises the beautiful town hall tower. At its summit, against the backdrop of a medieval banner, stands the town’s coat of arms—nine barrels of salt—and beneath the elegant coat of arms with its turret, a gallery runs round the tower, featuring an ever-vigilant town fireman. Below the clock, and just above the building itself, perched at the four corners of the tower, ready to take flight, are the royal birds, eagles, keeping a watchful eye on the valiant city of Lviv fading into the mist and on the border peaks of the Carpathians, their gaze also turned towards the ancient towns of Halych and surveying the entire Sambor region.”

The Town Hall building – a witness to post-war changes

The town hall building did not undergo any significant alterations during the Soviet period, apart from the tower’s decorations (the eagles), which were removed. On 2 April 1990, the blue-and-yellow flag of independent Ukraine was hoisted at the top of the tower, the second such flag to be raised after the one in Stryi (14 March 1990). In later years, the building was renovated. Today, just as before the Second World War, it houses the headquarters of the Drohobych City Council, and the tower is open to visitors – from there, one can see almost the entire city.

It is worth noting that in 2020, the book *The Triad of Time: Drohobych Town Hall* ( *Тріада часу: дрогобицькій ратуші*) was published to mark the 90th anniversary of the building’s construction. It is the only literary collection in Ukraine dedicated to a town hall building. In addition to a brief historical overview, the publication contains literary works on this, one of the most beautiful seats of municipal authority in Ukraine.