4. Town Scales House

4. Town Scales House

The renaissance burgher house from the beginning of the 17th century was the administrative headquarters of the Nysa principality and the Merchant Chambers for Measurements and Weights. In the loggia were scales and a cubit gauge. The façade contains a cannon ball to commemorate the town’s conquest by the French in 1807. The late renaissance elements are typical of a building from 1604. The decoration of the façade was originally made up of statues and paintings praising moral and religious virtues. The upper wall of the Town Scales House had the stone figure of the Archangel Michael, symbolising victory and triumph over evil and a figure showing the Allegory of Faith. In the middle part of the façade we see five allegories of virtues – Intelligence, Love, Moderation, Strength, Hope. At the bottom of the façade is an allegory of Justice. The painting and sculptural decorations on the Town Scales House were destroyed during World War II. In 2011, the building was restored and some of the sculptural parts of the decoration were restored.