The text mentions the town hall in Buczacz on the Strypa River. In addition to the ruins of the castle belonging to the Potocki family, the town hall is mentioned in connection with Mikołaj Potocki, who also built the Catholic parish church, the Russian Basilian convent and erected the town hall mentioned above (Source: Tygodnik Illustrowany, Warsaw 1876, Series 3, T:1, pp. 326-328, after: University of Łódź Digital Library).

A modernised reading of the text

Buczacz Town Hall.

In the most delightful area of Galicia, in a ravine in Podolia, on the river Strypa, lies the present-day district town of Buczacz, which has a population of over 9,000, is well-built, fairly commercial and industrial. Its past is also rich in historical memories, which we have already mentioned in No. 349 of "Tygodnik" last year, giving an image of the ruins of the local castle. However, there is also the rare occurrence of the village belonging to one and the same family for many centuries, passing down the family line from the Buczackis to the Potockis, in whose hands it still remains. Only the ruins of the castle remain from the former, while all the other memorabilia that has been preserved belongs to the latter, and what is more important, it focuses on the famous 18th century figure of Mikołaj Potocki, the starost of Kaniów.

According to the sad tales about him and contemporary historical sources, he was supposed to be the type of a magnanimous magnate who was outlawed to all kinds of arbitrariness, playing with the lives and property of those weaker than himself. However, this terrible man undeniably left behind many useful institutions in the country. How many churches he built, how many charitable institutions he established, how many funds he allocated for the education of poor young people. He built the local Catholic parish church and the Russian Basilian monastery, and at his own expense built the magnificent town hall, the image of which is given here. This magnificent building, in the Italian style, but neither Gothic nor ancient, as it has been erroneously described so far, was erected around 1770, according to the plan of one of the builders who was then staying at Potocki's court.

In view of such testimonies, what to think of the legendary mischief and cruelty of the starost of Kaniów? Were his good deeds motivated only by a desire to erase his sinful guilt, or are the legends, as often happens, not entirely truthful in their exaggeration? In any case, this matter deserves attention and closer study.