Town Hall, Léva

Until the middle of the 18th century, Léva did not have its own town hall. The judges therefore conducted their official business in their homes. For the same reason, the town magistrates' meetings were held in the house of one of the members until 1754. In that year, the town bought a family house on Malom Street, and then additional buildings on the old market square (later Kossuth Square, today Hősök Square), where official business could be conducted in one place. The old town hall stood on the site of the current office, which occupied only the rear area of the plot intended for this purpose. The single-storey, tiled-roofed building was in very poor condition immediately before its demolition. At the end of the 19th century, the town council decided to have a new, practical town hall built. After preparing the plans, obtaining the permits, and obtaining the necessary money, a construction supervision committee was elected from among the members of the town council. The foundation stone contained a short history of the old building, the budget for 1902 and the list of the then council of representatives. After the funds were allocated, construction began. The plans were prepared by the architect Rezső Czibulka. The construction work of the town hall was carried out by the construction company of Izidor Szauer (Izidor Szauer and Mór). The costs reached 200,000 Austro-Hungarian crowns. The work lasted from dawn to dusk every day of the week. The building bears the marks of late romanticism mixed with elements of Hungarian Art Nouveau. The ceremonial handover of the Town Hall took place on September 2, 1902. ; By the 1920s, the building had outgrown itself, so it was decided to expand the Town Hall with new premises. The magistrate announced a tender. Rezső Czibulka proposed the most suitable solution. His plan did not require dismantling the roof. The roof structure was divided into parts and then supported by columns, which were placed based on very precise static calculations. The loud commands controlling the movement of the lifting arms could often be heard in the main square. The workers had to move in a coordinated manner so as not to damage the roof structure. The company of Izidor Szauer and Oszkár Laufer from Léva also participated in the works. In 1927, the renovated building housed the district office and other institutions. The second floor housed the directorate of the state tax office, the city library and the museum. The ground floor housed the notary's office, the city gendarmerie and the employment agency. ; There were also several business premises on the ground floor of the Town Hall building. Jewish merchant Bernát Láng opened a coffee house, Schweihs and Trebitsch operated a general store, but there was also a shoe and toy store here.