century, including the ratusz in Toruń (Toruń Regional Museum or Muzeum Okręgowe in Polish), with stained glass and gingerbread divisions, in Poznań (Muzeum Okręgowe), with a Chopin division, in Lublin (Muzeum Okręgowe), Siedlce (Muzeum Okręgowe), Białystok (Muzeum Podlaskie), Gdańsk (Muzeum Historii Miasta), Sandomierz (Muzeum Okręgowe), and Szczecin (Muzeum Historii Miasta Szczecina). Others still serve as seats of local government, and sometimes also as civil wedding halls and art galleries, restaurants, and cultural centres. These include Zamość, Kielce, Zielona Góra (also a civil wedding hall, restaurant, and winery), Kętrzyn (also a wedding hall and cultural centre), and Kołobrzeg (also a wedding hall, cultural centre, and gallery of modern art). Etymology The Polish word ratusz to describe a city hall is derived from the German Rathaus (council house) sometime during the Middle Ages. The influence also serves as a metonym for the burmistrz (burgomaster, or mayor), derived from the German bürgermeister. Since 1980, the Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society (PTTK) offers a badge for tourists interested in organizing group excursions across the country with the aim of visiting the maximum number of ratusz towns and cities. The PTTK hands out a special booklet where stamps can be collected for the gold badge awarded for visiting a minimum of twenty ratusz outlets. Prominent examples References Polish words and phrases Gubernatorial titles Architecture in Poland Magdeburg rights