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Article

Architectural and artistic solution of the town hall in Buchach

Lesya Chen Nazar Ratushynskyj
Abstract

The town hall was not only the building of the city self-government body, which housed the city government but also a very important public architectural structure of the city, which performed an administrative function. Square in plan, but diverse in the form of completion and dimensions, building material, compositional, constructive, and plastic solutions, town halls were the main architectural and artistic accents of the market squares of Ukrainian cities. The article was devoted to the study of the construction history and artistic and compositional features of the unique town hall in Buchach, dated 1750-1751, which had survived to 2025 in its authentic form. The study of the architectural and artistic solution of the town hall in Buchach was a source of the aesthetic perception of the society of artistic values of a specific historical era. The history of the construction of the baroque town hall built according to the project of the outstanding architect Bernard Meretyn and the sculptor Johann Georg Pinzel, with the funds of the patron Mykolai Pototsky, was revealed. This highly artistic architectural building reflects the high level of skill and talent of the architect and sculptor of the Baroque era. The peculiarities of the use of decorative stone carvings and sculptural compositions on mythological subjects in the decoration of buildings in the late Baroque period were considered. The plastic treatment of mythological sculptural compositions on the parapet and on the pediment of the main facade of the town hall was analysed. As a result of atmospheric effects, the decor, and individual sculptures had suffered significant losses and require restoration work. Due to a lack of funds, restoration work had been stopped. The researched unique architectural object had a high artistic and artistic value and belongs not only to the artistic heritage of Ukraine but also to the world’s cultural heritage

Keywords

architect B. Meretyn; sculptor I. Pinzel; planning; composition; decor

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Received 02.10.2024, Revised 19.04.2025, Accepted 01.07.2025

Retrieved from Vol. 11, No. 2, 2025

Suggested citation

Chen, L., & Ratushynskyj, N. (2025). Architectural and artistic solution of the town hall in Buchach. Architectural Studies, 11(2), 36-44. https://doi.org/10.56318/as/2.2025.36

https://doi.org/10.56318/as/2.2025.36

Pages 36-44

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ISSN 2411-801X e-ISSN 2786-7374  UDC 71;72
DOI: 10.56318/as