Ratusz w małych miastach polskich w XV–XVI wieku

This article attempts to find an answer to the question about the presence and role of town halls in very small and small Polish towns (i.e. in centres with a population of from several hundred to just over one thousand people) in the 15th to 16th centuries. Notes made in the town’s ledgers, which included expenses related to the functioning of the town halls, as well as all other mention of such halls in the town’s books and in surveys were analysed. Based on these meagre sources it is difficult to answer with any certainty the question about when the construction of town halls in small centres began. This phenomenon was visible from at least the mid-15th century, although some of the towns of interest to us already had town halls earlier – in the first half of the 15th century. The town hall was perceived by everyone as being a significant element attesting to the fact that a given centre could be called a town. Although the construction and then the maintenance of this attribute of urban culture required both financial means and organization which often exceeded the abilities of small town communities, the desire to build town halls and the planning of such enterprises are clearly visible. Town halls in smaller towns had reduced functions compared with those in large centres; however, far-reaching analogies can be observed. Apart from a residential function, the town halls in small towns served as archives, sometimes also as prisons, it is where trading was conducted, meetings held, and where information was exchanged.