12. Town Hall Art
There are many surprises inside the town hall. Its art collections cover practically all the walls and niches of its two floors.
The exhibited art works come from three collections: the main collection is the Reinhold Erwin Schoenwerk Fund, known as the ‘German Heritage’. It consists of paintings, sculptures and furniture that were received in 1976 after their owner’s death. The next big collection is the former Casino Orotava Fund, a society that remained active from the mid-19th century until the 1970s. This collection includes several landscape paintings by Canarian artists, as well as chairs, lamps and the Plenary Hall’s mirror collection. Finally, there’s the Municipal Collection, which includes eight paintings transferred from the Prado Museum in 1905 and two paintings from the former Catalinas convent The Piety and Nazareth with Simon of Cyrene.
The main staircase up to the second floor is decorated with six religious-themed paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries: The Pieta, Jesus of Nazareth, Saint Ursula, Nazareth with Simon of Cyrene, Mary Magdalene and Saint Lucia.
On the second floor, there are artistic objects from northern Europe made between the 16th and 19th centuries. The location of the works does not respond to any stylistic criteria. Two 16th-century panels stand out due to their high quality: a Flemish one, Virgin and Child and one of the Hispanic-Flemish school, Adoration of the Three Kings. The paintings granted by the Prado Museum occupy the lobby in the Plenary Hall.
Now leaving the building through the main door and, without going down to the square, walk to the right. When you reach the street, turn right and cross the pedestrian crossing in front of the Botanical Garden Extension. Go down Calle León and take the first street on the right. Continue straight until you reach the next point, Plaza Constitución. You’ll find the route code next to the stone bench in front of the pedestrian crossing.