On December 10th of last year, another meeting of ZOPI members took place. This time, Tarnów was chosen as the venue for the meeting.
During the meeting, we discussed organizational matters and set priorities for our upcoming activities. It was a pleasure to welcome new members to the organization.
The meeting took place in a remarkable location – in the building of the Town Hall, which served as the seat of the city authorities from its inception until 1931, when it was converted into a museum. The building itself was constructed at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries. Initially built in the Gothic style, in the 1570s, it acquired a Renaissance appearance. The simple, cubic form was crowned with a high, brick attic wall, behind which lies the so-called sunken roof. The attic was adorned with 28 blendas, in which portraits of the city owners from the Tarnowski family were placed.
Between 1889 and 1892, significant changes were made to the interiors, during which the damaged vaults were demolished. On the upper floor, the Council Chamber was expanded and adorned with neorenaissance stuccoes, giving it a representative character.
Between 1962 and 1968, fragments of polychromy from the 18th century were uncovered on the walls of the Assembly Hall, modeled after graphics found in Francesco Pona's work "Shapes of the Heart or Selected Holy Hearts" from 1645. The Italian original was used here to present the civic virtues of the municipal assembly.
The building is dominated by a 28-meter Gothic-Renaissance tower. At its top is a balcony, originally housing the fire brigade's station. Originally, the tower's helmet was crowned with the city's coat of arms, Leliwa, which in the 18th century was replaced by the Pogoń coat of arms, the emblem of the Sanguszko princes, the owners of Tarnów. At noon, the "Tarnów Bugle Call" composed by Stanisław Rzepecki in 1972 can be heard from the tower. An extraordinary tourist attraction is the opportunity to climb the tower and admire the panorama of Tarnów.
The ZOPI meeting itself took place in the Assembly Hall – the largest and most representative room of the town hall, where the citizens gathered to deliberate on important city matters. Currently, it houses the Gallery of Old Polish Portraits, dating from the 16th to the 18th century, known as the "Sarmatian portrait". The ensemble of portraits displayed in the permanent exhibition is one of the largest and most valuable in Poland.