The Rotes Rathaus (, ''Red City Hall'') is the town hall of

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, located in the Mitte district on Rathausstraße near Alexanderplatz. It is the home to the governing mayor and the government (the

Senate of Berlin The Senate of Berlin (german: Berliner Senat) is the executive body governing the city of Berlin, which at the same time is a state of Germany. According to the the Senate consists of the Governing Mayor of Berlin and up to ten senators appoint ...

) of the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

of Berlin. The name of the landmark building dates from the façade design with red clinker bricks.

History

The Rathaus was built between 1861 and 1869 in the style of the Northern Italy High

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

Hermann Friedrich Waesemann Hermann Friedrich Waesemann (6 June 1813 – 28 January 1879) was a German architect. He was born in Danzig ( Gdańsk), the son of an architect. He studied mathematics and science in Bonn from 1830 to 1832, before going to Berlin to study a ...

. It was modelled on the Old Town Hall of Thorn (today

Toruń )'' , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg , image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg , nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town , pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

), while the architecture of the tower is reminiscent of the cathedral tower of Notre-Dame de Laon in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. It replaced several individual buildings dating from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

and now occupies an entire city block. The building was heavily damaged by Allied bombing in World War II and rebuilt to the original plans between 1951 and 1956. The ''Neues Stadthaus'', which survived the bombing and had formerly been the head office of Berlin's municipal fire insurance ''Feuersozietät'' in Parochialstraße served as the temporary city hall for the post-war city government for all the sectors of Berlin until September 1948. Following that time, it housed only those of the Soviet sector. The reconstructed Rotes Rathaus, then located in the Soviet sector, served as the town hall of East Berlin, while the

Rathaus Schöneberg Rathaus Schöneberg is the city hall for the borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg in Berlin. From 1949 until 1990 it served as the seat of the state senate of West Berlin and from 1949 until 1991 as the seat of the Governing Mayor. History The sa ...

was the town hall of

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

. After German reunification, the administration of reunified Berlin officially moved into the Rotes Rathaus on 1 October 1991. File:Ayuntamiento Rojo, Berlín, Alemania, 2016-04-22, DD 37-39 HDR.jpg, Tower and clock of Rotes Rathaus File:Rotes Rathaus, Berlin.jpg, Rotes Rathaus at night File:Rotes Rathaus vom Fernsehturm aus.jpg, Seen from the Fernsehturm File:Berlin- The Rotes Rathaus with the Neptunbrunnen in front - 2761.jpg, Rotes Rathaus and Neptunbrunnen File:LNM 03-13 Rotes Rathaus 08.jpg, Entrance hall of the Rathaus File:Torun Ratusz Staromiejski 2010 03 04 7189.JPG,

town hall, inspiration for the Rotes Rathaus

External links

CityMayors feature

{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Mitte City and town halls in Germany Government buildings completed in 1869 1869 establishments in Prussia Official residences of subnational executives Rebuilt buildings and structures in Berlin

History

See also

External links