Rathaus Spittal an der Drau

The town hall of Spittal an der Drau stands on Burgplatz opposite Schloss Porcia. It was once the Vicedom building, home to the Ortenburg county administration and the land judge’s seat. A plaque on the façade shows the year 1537 and the Khevenhüller-Manstorff coat of arms. The main portal carries the Salamanca-Eberstein-Baden arms. The three-storey structure surrounds a central courtyard and shares its builder with Schloss Porcia. The Renaissance building’s four-bay front is capped by a corner tower. Its entrance, with fluted pilasters and a projecting entablature, echoes the palace’s main door. Bifora windows match those on the palace’s north front. The ground floor once held open arcades, while the upper levels had columned arcades. The rear wing once housed the old district court prison. Around 1600, an upstairs room was painted with scenes of a peasant couple, a naked man with an eagle, and a clothed eagle amid foliage, thought to symbolise payments of small feudal dues. Visitors enter through the richly carved portal into the arcaded courtyard. The upper floors still show traces of the original arcades. A stair leads to the first floor where the painted room survives, its murals depicting rural life and heraldic birds. The rear wing’s thick walls recall its former use as a jail. From the courtyard, the building’s shared architectural language with Schloss Porcia is clear. The square outside offers views of both the town hall and the palace across the way.