Kolomyia is a small town, but very interesting, including in architectural terms. The appearance of this city reflects its difficult and ancient history, so here you can see many real gems — beautiful churches, houses, public and administrative buildings. And among them are the main treasures — the Town Hall and Renaissance Square, which throughout the history of Kolomyia have been the heart of the city.
Walking through the cozy streets of Kolomyia, it is impossible to ignore the main town square — the most beautiful buildings are located in these places, dominated by the Town Hall. You can recognize it from afar — it is the tallest building in the historical center of the city, represented by one- and two-storey houses.
The Town Hall building was erected in the middle of the XIX century, as well as most of the buildings that can be seen in the area of Renaissance Square today. The fact is that in 1865 all the buildings that existed here, including the old Town Hall, were destroyed by a large-scale fire. According to the project of an unknown architect, a beautiful three-story neo-Renaissance building with a square tower with more than six floors was erected in just 12 years.
Ratusha is not only a visiting card of Kolomyia and a very beautiful building, it is unique in its kind: there is no second magistrate standing sideways in relation to the main square in Ukraine. The location of the tower is also unusual — it is angular, which is unusual for this type of buildings. Today the tower, as well as a century and a half ago, is decorated with the coat of arms of the city and a beautiful clock with a dial about 1 meter in diameter, and its ancient mechanism still performs its work properly. Above the clock on the level of the sixth floor was installed a balcony — this is how the authorities decided to insure the city from new big fires: from this balcony it is all visible as on the palm of your hand, and you could notice the fire from afar. In the backyard, the hangar rooms that once housed the fire department have been preserved to this day, and the building itself is still in use today — it is occupied by the city authorities. Unfortunately, the tower with its ancient narrow spiral staircase and the balcony of the Town Hall are not officially accessible today, but it is worth seeing from the outside, just like the other buildings of Renaissance Square, the heart of the city, which was reborn from the ashes like the famous mythical creature, the Phoenix bird.
After seeing the Town Hall, you can walk around the perimeter of the square, which resembles the shape of a trapezoid. All the buildings standing here are ancient attractions of Kolomyja, dating back to the middle to the end of the XIX century. Among them are such gems as St. Michael’s Church of 1864 and the Church of St. Josaphat Kuntsevich of 1895. However, in general, each building here is a small masterpiece; in architectural terms, the building is referred to the style of Austro-Hungarian historicism and, together with the public garden decorating the very center of the square, its ensemble seems not only beautiful and romantic, but also somehow very cozy and peaceful.
During the Middle Ages, Renaissance Square was part of a large square called Market Square, and the Town Hall stood in its center. Today, the appearance of the heart of the city has changed considerably, but now it reflects the most important thing — the desire of the citizens for a calm and peaceful life, their unshakeable belief that after any disaster, if you have the desire and faith, you can revive to life again.