The dominant building on the main square of Esztergom was built between 1772 and 1773, and is an arcaded palace in the Baroque style. The town hall was originally the one-story house of János Bottyán, the warlord of the Rákóczi War of Independence, which burned down in 1770 as a result of a lightning strike. They then began building the building we see today, originally for a school secondary city.