Šibenik City Hall is located on the north side of the old main
town square (formerly Plathea communis - Communal Square, today the
Square of the Republic of Croatia) opposite the northern facade of
the famous Cathedral of St. Jacob.
The City Hall was
certainly the most prestigious civilian building in medieval
Šibenik, and even today it is one of the most famous cultural
monuments of Krešimir's city. Many consider it one of the most
beautiful Croatian city halls in general. It was built in the first
half of the 16th century, more precisely between 1533 and 1546, in
the style of the High Renaissance, and is characterized by a
distinct harmony. The chief architect is not known. The building
consists of a ground floor and a first floor. The ground floor
begins with a porch with nine semicircular arches, typical of the
Renaissance style, which rest on ten pillars above which extends a
cornice on which are bases with reliefs of large lion heads. The
ground floor used to house the city administration offices, while
the city council sessions took place upstairs in the representative
hall. The front of the first floor is divided by pillars, and in the
lower part it is decorated with a balustrade and a richly decorated
balcony (reliefs of lion heads and floral ornament). To the left of
the Gad town hall is a small bell tower "on a pediment" whose bell
invited the city nobles to a council. In the 18th century, on both
sides of the town hall, the Šibenik builder Ivan Skok made very
beautiful stairs. During World War II, on December 13, 1943, the
town hall was completely destroyed during an Allied air attack on a
city that was under German occupation. After the war, Šibenik City
Hall was
reconstructed in its original form under the expert guidance of the
architect Harold Bilinić, and its interior was equipped in
accordance with the new purposes of the building. On the first floor
of the Šibenik City hall, there is still a representative hall where civil
marriages take place, and sometimes city events are held, while the
ground floor has been converted into a restaurant.