The County House in Prešov is a rococo-classical palace-type building designed for administrative purposes of the former Šarišská stoce.
Even at the end of the Middle Ages, Prešov definitely became the most important political, cultural, economic-administrative and religious centre of the Šariš region. The importance of the city grew even more when in 1723 it became the seat of one of the four newly established legal institutions in Hungary, namely the Diocesan Judicial Board, intended for the entire region of Potisia.
After Maria Theresa's decree, according to which each See was obliged to build a new administrative building in the place of its seat, a new administrative building was actually built between 1769 and 1770. representative building - County House.
The extensive reconstruction led to the connection of two storey Renaissance houses with the corner storey house of the Prešov letterpress printer F. Paracelsus. This created a monumental palace-type building with a spacious hall on the first floor, connected by a network of corridors with other rooms.
The richly articulated façade with two entrance portals was topped with a triangular gable (tympanum) with the relief of King Solomon's court, which is still a decoration of this building. Interestingly wide staircase with balustradewhich leads to a spacious hall with a corbelled vault.
The county house in Prešov served its original purpose for more than a century and a half, until the end of 1944. After the war it was gradually reconstructed to provide space for several institutions.
Source: Švorc, P.: Guide to Historical Prešov. Universum. 2006. Prešov. ISBN 80-89046-35-5
Cover photo: Jano Štovka, MQEP
