Crown Tribunal (Old Town Hall)
In the centre of the Old Market Square, there is the building of the Crown Tribunal. The original building of the town hall in the Gothic style was erected in the 14th century and was wooden. It had two towers and external stairs, and it occupied a smaller area than the one existing today. After the fire of Lublin in 1389, only the ruins remained of it. Another building in this place was made of bricks and in the Gothic style. The first reconstruction works conducted in the 1 st half of the 16th century gave it the Renaissance appearance - the building was topped with an attic, and external stairs leading to the first floor were added. After the fire of Lublin in 1575, another reconstruction of the town hall took place. The building rebuilt in the Renaissance style was to refer to the town halls in Sandomierz and Tarnów.
From 1578, by the decision of King Stefan Batory, the building served as the Crown Tribunal. The nobility from all of Lesser Poland would come to Lublin to settle disputes. Corrupt judges and unfair judicial decisions determined the dissolution of the tribunal. One of the most infamous examples of corruption was Devil's Trial, which supposedly took place in 1637. In the 80s of the 17th century, another redesign of the Tribunal, this time in the Baroque style, took place. The second floor was added, and the tower was rebuilt. Its Baroque appearance was depicted in the Fire of Lublin's city in the Dominican church. The building did not stay in this form for a long time because, in 1781-1787, it was rebuilt according to the design of the royal architect Dominik Merlini. At that time, it was given the Neoclassical character that made the building slightly monumental. The building was expanded, almost twice enlarged, and the second floor was completed for land courts.
Nowadays, in the building of the former Crown Tribunal, there is the Wedding Palace, and in the Great Hall, concerts and meetings occur. In the basement (the old wine cellar and prison), there is the Lublin Underground Trail.
