The Old Town Hall (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

''Altes Rathaus''), until 1874 the domicile of the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

, serves today as a building for representative purposes for the city council in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The Old Town Hall bounds the central square

Marienplatz Marienplatz (English language, English: Mary's Square, i.e. St. Mary, Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady's Square) is a town square, central square in the city centre of Munich, Germany. It has been the city's main square since 1158. History During ...

on its east side.

Architecture

The building, documented for the first time in 1310, had its ''Grand Hall'' (Großer Saal) constructed in 1392/1394. The former ''Talburg Gate'' (

Talburgtor The Talburgtor, also called ''Talbrucktor'', was one of the five city gates built in the late 12th century, as first Defensive wall, city walls of Middle Ages, medieval Munich. The Talburgtor was also called ''Unteres Tor'' (Lower Gate), ''Talt ...

) of the first city wall serves as spire. The Old Town Hall was re-designed in late- gothic style by Jörg von Halsbach 1470–1480. The Grand Hall was decorated by the

Morris dance Morris dancing is a form of English folklore, English folk dance. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers in costume, usually wearing bell pads on their shins, their shoes or both. A ban ...

rs, created by

Erasmus Grasser Erasmus Grasser (c. 1450 – c. 1515) was a leading master builder and sculptor in Munich in the early 16th century. Biography He developed in an animated and realistic style, furthering on the works of Nikolaus Gerhaert. Grasser worked mainly ...

. After alterations of the facade during the Renaissance and again in the Baroque the building was restored in

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

style 1861–1864. In 1874 the municipality moved to the New Town Hall. For the passage of increased road traffic the Old Town Hall was tunneled in 1877 with a drive-through and a separate pedestrian's passage, as well as once again in 1934/35, this time finally destroying the original ground floor. During World War II the building was severely damaged and the spire was reconstructed in 1971–1974. Parts of the neo-Gothic elements, especially the statues of

Ludwig the Bavarian Louis IV (; 1 April 1282 – 11 October 1347), called the Bavarian (, ), was King of the Romans from 1314, King of Italy from 1327, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1328 until his death in 1347. Louis' election as king of Germany in 1314 was cont ...

(west facade) and

Henry the Lion Henry the Lion (; 1129/1131 – 6 August 1195), also known as Henry III, Duke of Saxony (ruled 1142-1180) and Henry XII, Duke of Bavaria (ruled 1156-1180), was a member of the Welf dynasty. Henry was one of the most powerful German princes of ...

(east facade) and the gable design are preserved. The Grand Hall was the venue for the speech of

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and philologist who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief Propaganda in Nazi Germany, propagandist for the Nazi Party, and ...

on November 9, 1938 which is known as the prelude for the

Kristallnacht ( ) or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from the Hitler Youth and German civilia ...

References

Culture in Munich Buildings and structures in Munich Gothic architecture in Munich Tourist attractions in Munich City and town halls in Germany {{Bavaria-struct-stub