Kaunas City Municipality
Kaunas
historic town hall and Kaunas City Museum space
Rotušės a. 15, Kaunas
54.89690, 23.88650
45-90 minutes; longer for exhibitions or events
weekday or before an old-town walk; check museum hours before visiting
White Swan, Kaunas City Town Hall, Kaunas City Museum Town Hall
The centre of Town Hall Square
Kaunas Town Hall stands in Town Hall Square, the old-town space where city self-government, trade, sacred life, and everyday urban history meet. Because of its white facade and high tower, the building has long been called the White Swan.
Today the town hall functions as a Kaunas City Museum space. That changes the visit: you can not only walk around the square and photograph the facade, but also enter exhibitions that explain the building and city history.
The 1542 beginning
Kaunas City Museum points to a document of July 28, 1542 connected with the construction of a new masonry town hall. This makes the building one of the key signs of early Kaunas self-government.
The town hall was not only a representative tower. The magistrate met here, administrative and legal city functions operated here, and the building changed with the city's needs. The museum emphasizes that the magistrate worked here from the sixteenth century until the early nineteenth century.
Architectural layers
The building looks unified today, but its history joins Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical features. It is not a monument of only one period but a document of Kaunas' development.
The high tower makes the town hall the compositional centre of the square. Walking around it, visitors can see how the building connects square scale, old-town streets, and nearby sacred buildings.
A new museum stage
After recent restoration and adaptation works, the town hall reopened to visitors as a Kaunas City Museum branch. That matters because the building was often seen only as a ceremony or representation space, while now it can carry a fuller city narrative.
The museum visit helps explain why the town hall is the old town's symbol. The facade tells only part of the story; exhibitions connect city rights, magistrate history, trade, the square, and present-day Kaunas identity.
Opening hours and tickets
At the time of review, Kaunas City Museum listed the schedule as Tuesday-Wednesday 10:00-17:00, Thursday 12:00-20:00, Friday-Saturday 12:00-18:00, and Sunday 12:00-17:00; the museum is closed on Monday. Adult tickets were 10 EUR and reduced tickets 5 EUR.
Hours, prices, and exhibition rules can change, so check the Kaunas City Museum Town Hall page before travelling. If you only want the exterior, Town Hall Square is a public space with no ticket.
