Inviting Oława

Town Hall in Oława

Main entrance to the Town Hall - early springtime

Oława is a small town, but charming and very picturesque, so definitely worth to visit while staying in the area. The biggest tourist attraction is a representative town hall, now the neo-classical building from the first half of the nineteenth century. The initiator of the construction of the first town hall was the Duchess Catherine, the widow of a spendthrift ruler Boleslaw III (around 1353). Then it passed numerous phases of expansion and remodeling. First, in 1585, during the heyday, the town hall was rebuilt according to the project of Italian architect Bernard Niuron. In 1634, the new Renaissance seat of the town was burned down in the largest fire in the history of the town. It was reconstructed again in the years 1637-1668. Then a baroque tower, which has survived unchanged to this day, was erected. In the years 1823 - 1824 the town hall was completely rebuilt in the late Classical style according to the instructions of renowned Prussian architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel. The shape of the baroque tower was not changed because of the historic value of the clock that was installed on the tower.

The tower is the most impressive part of the town hall: 58.5 m high, four-sided at the bottom, with octagonal 13 m upper part. A figural clock, consisting of four dials and four figures: King Solomon, Death with a scythe, a rooster chasing a hen and gilded orb, which indicated phases of the moon with extreme precision, is placed on its walls. The clock was donated by the Duchess Louise Anhalcka, the mother of the last of the Piast. Works on the construction of the clock lasted almost 40 years, from 1680 until 1718, in the times of Prince Jacob Sobieski. The clock was subsequently built by three watchmakers: Salat, Krauter and Reibe (the meaning in Polish: lettuce, cabbage and beet).

View of the Town Hall in Oława from the eastern wall - summer

An additional attraction in the early decades of the operation of the clock were bugle call players who played every day at the gallery at sunrise and sunset. Currently, from July 7, 2011, every day at sunset from the tower of the town hall resounds the bugle call in the form of evening rota, which is archaic music of Silesian Celtic sources. It is to commemorate the 777 anniversary of the town Oława.

A gallery with a metal balustrade is placed above the clock around the tower. The tower is topped with a typical baroque two luminal cupola. A a copper plated sphere was placed at the top, on the metal tip of the spire. During the renovation of the tower in 2001, the extremely valuable and unique collection was found in it. The globe consisted of Piast coins from the seventeenth century, the German coins from the period of the Third Reich as well as documents and a collection of old postcards of Oława. Nowadays we can watch them in the Chamber Museum of Oława Land.

View of the Sanctuary od Our Lady of consolation in Oława

The bells, humping the passage of time, dated 1669, are placed at the top of the tower and are decorated with a lovely herb of Oława. The tower with a clock is available to the public occasionally during holidays and events associated with the city, as Rooster Days or the Night of Museums. One can then see the heart of Oława up close, as well as enter the gallery, which offers a panoramic view of the town with the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Consolation, the church of Saints Peter and Paul and all its surroundings. And under good visibility the impressive structures as Wroclaw Sky Tower, the Mountain Ślęża, and even the church steeples of the Holy Cross church in Brzeg can be seen.

The Chamber Museum of Oława Land - one of the rooms

In 2012 the town hall renovation, which lasted six years, was completed. It was the biggest general overhaul of the building after the Second World War. It was carried out as part of the project "Reconstruction of the Town Hall in Oława" co-financed by the European Union from the European Regional Development Fund. Today, the Chamber Museum of Oława Land, equipped with professional showcases and e-gallery, is located on the ground floor of the building. Here one can see, among other things: the famous figures that adorned the town hall to its renovation in 2001, King Solomon, Death, a rooster and a hen (2002, Wroclaw artist Maciej Stoksik made new figures identical to the previous, the ancient ones), the exhibition of precious possessions dug out during archaeological excavations in the fortified settlement of Ryczyn, three Baroque sarcophagi, religious monuments from Oława’s churches - silver chalices, nineteenth-century Missals, vestments, sculptures, monstrances, etc., militaria - elements of weapons and military equipment, urns with soil from places where the battles of the Second World War with the participation of Polish soldiers took place, striped prison uniforms from Auschwitz, authentic regional Borderlands’ costumes, the collection of Jaroslaw Furgała’s sculptures, Kazimierz Wozniak’s ceramics and his pottery workshop and the exhibition entitled "Borderlands"(“Kresy”).

Nature educational trail in the town park in Oława

One of the bicycle lanes in the town park

The project was implemented under the Regional Operational Programme of Lower Silesia for the years 2007-2013, Priority 4 -Improving the environment and ecological and flood safety in Lower Silesia, operation 4.7 "Protection of biodiversity and ecological education." In November 2013, the construction of nature educational trail in the city park was completed. The project, co-financed from EU funds, included the reconstruction of the existing park’s paths and the construction of landscape architecture, recreational facilities, including organized leisure destinations, viewpoints and playground.

At Kilinskiego Street the gate pole standing in the Protestant cemetery of the village Baumgarten was recreated, on which a commemorative plaque was monted. Furthermore, numerous works in the field of green were made, to restore the proper state and to ensure the protection of the ecosystem in the area; in particular there were carried out treatments of the existing forest stand and new plantings of trees, shrubs and perennials, which increased its biodiversity.

Zigzak balance beam in the town park

Due to its location and different topographical features of land, the park is divided into three functional and spatial zones and each zone into sectors, characterized by a slightly different type and arrangement of greenery. The main objective of the construction of the path is to use the existing environmental capacity for the purpose of Nature Education. Therefore educational boards were installed, which contain information about its history, nature and landscape characteristics of particular zones and sectors, and about the most interesting and valuable species of trees occurring there.

A picturesque corner of nature - Sector 16

Here is a sample description of one of the Nature educational trail’s zones – Sector 16:

This beautiful area is located in north-western part of the park. The zone is reduced by 1.5 m in relation to the adjacent ground. Also a stronger degree of the forest stand and lack of compositional principles distinguishes it from the rest of the park.

Oława's residents strolling along Sector 15

The dominant species in the tree layer are: the grey- silver ash (Fraxinus excelsior), the sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus) and the hornbeam (Carpinus betulus). In the northern part, the group of black pines (Pinus nigra) and two impressive, shapely common beech trees (Fagus sylvatica) can be admired. The verrucose birch (Betula pendula), the black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) and the Norway maple (Acer platanoides) occur in the underwood layer. In the shrub layer the elderberry (Sambucus nigra) and the ivy (Hedera helix) are common. Marigolds, anemones, campanulas and many other small woodland flowers are present in abundance, especially in spring and summer.

The Sobieskis Palace, currently the seat of the Municipal Office

I whole-heartedly encourage everyone, especially children and youth, to enjoy the nature trail, which enables an accessible way to acquire and expand knowledge about the natural values of the park, the function of green areas, as well as characteristic species, forming a variety of habitats. Recently the construction of this pathway has enhanced the attractiveness of the park and has contributed to the increased use of both environmental education and leisure and recreation.

Panoramic view of Oława before the refurbishment of the Town Hall

 HG