Hauptplatz 1 | Old Town Hall
History
The Old Town Hall stands at the south-eastern corner of the main square of Friesach, at Hauptplatz 1.
The building was first mentioned in the mid-18th century as a soldiers’ guardhouse and from 1770 served as the town hall.
In 1837–1838, it was remodelled and given a new facade by the master builder Jakob Griewieser, based on designs by Valentin Radweger and Joseph Ringer.
In 1866, Alois Heinzel restored the town hall clock.
In 1867, the building was handed over to the Imperial and Royal District Court.
Architectural Features
The representative corner building with a Late-Neoclassical facade dates from the first half of the 19th century, incorporating an older core.
The facades are horizontally structured by string and cornice mouldings.
Ionic giant pilasters flank the window axes on the upper floor.
Between the windows a Roman-period round medallion from a funerary monument is embedded. The medallion, dating from the mid-2nd century, depicts a woman in native costume wearing a Noric headdress.
Above it is a stucco relief in an ornate oval frame showing Justitia together with the town’s coat of arms.
The windows on the first-floor feature profiled frames, triangular gable pediments and coin-cut friezes in the lintel fields.
The windows on the second floor have simple sill mouldings supported by leaf-scroll consoles.
On the central projection, fasciae and a meander frieze replace the window pediments.
The round-arched portal is protected by a wrought-iron gate.
On the street-facing side, the windows have alternating triangular and segmental pediments with either coin-cut or meander friezes in the lintel fields.
