2. Perspectives on the Nature of German City Halls“The architecture and ornamentation of city halls and the activities they housed embodied the efforts of
the citizens to set themselves apart from other dominant secular and religious institutions, such as royal
dynasties and the Catholic and Protestant churches. City halls were the sites of local governance or
administration and also sites of festivals and rituals that helped construct a sense of collective or shared
identity while legitimizing the authority of those individuals or groups that actually exercised some
measure of power in the cities. Sculptures on façades celebrated local notables alongside important
dynastic or national figures. The buildings thus linked civic authority with the performance of civic pride.”
— Jeffry M. Diefendorf, "Rebuilding City Halls in Postwar Germany: Architectural Form and Identity”
“We call events and occasions public when they are open to all, in contrast to closed or exclusive affairs as
when we speak of public spaces or public buildings. But, as in the expression public building, the term
need not refer to general accessibility; the building does not even have to be open to public traffic. Public
buildings simple house state institutions and as such are public.
— Jürgen Habermas, The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere
“Art was not morally neutral but worked in the service of virtue… Ornament was not crime, but the
addition of beauty and instruction to the satisfaction of material needs. Art began precisely where utility
broke off. Form was not to follow function, but to transcend it. Any evidence of restraint, understatement,
or, worst of all, parsimony, will subvert its intention.”
— Donald Olsen, The City as a Work of Art
8. Wide-angle view of the restored "Prince's Room" -- originally used to house
distinguished guests of the town council (photo by Kubische Panoramen)
9. Details of stove in the Prince's Room (photo by Rainer Fritz) -- note the Augsburg
pinecone atop the ionic capital in the left panel)
10. Bamberg
1467; additions in 1756 by Jakob Küchel
The bishop of Bamberg refused to allow the citizens to build a city hall on any land under the control of the church. So the townspeople created
an artificial island in the Regnitz river and built their town hall there.
49. Tower top and finial
Note the Hamburg coat of arms against the red background The seal dates from the 13th century, and may only be used on government documents or buildings.
The Latin inscription below the seal and above a mosaic representation of Hammonia, patron goddess of the city says:
May posterity strive to preserve the freedom won by our forebearers
50. City Hall inner courtyard with the Fountain of Hygieia, classical goddess of health (photo by Ulrich Kerstling)
65. Heidelberg detail (Coat of Arms)
Present coat of arms is a copy of the original by Heinrich Charrasky
For a reading of the symbolism, click here: http://www.dr-bernhard-peter.de/Heraldik/Galerien/galerie1021.htm
74. Gothic revival wall and Art Nouveau decorations (photo by Jean Pierre Hinze)
75. Lübeck Audience Hall Doors
Formerly courtroom doors. Defendants judged innocent left by the taller door on the left;
guilty defendants had to duck their heads and exit through the lower door on the right.
92. Entrance to the dining hall; over the entrance are: Alexander the Great, the leopard beast with four heads (from
the Book of Daniel), Julius Caesar and the beast with ten horns; in the center is the Nuremberg coast of arms,
representing its status as a Free Imperial City (right) and a member of the Holy Roman Empire (left)
115. Bibliography
Books
Chattopadhyay, Swati (Editor) and White, Jeremy (Editor), City Halls and Civic Materialism: Towards a Global History of Urban Public Space; London, 2014
Olsen, Donald J., The City as a Work of Art; Yale University, 1988
(Though this book covers primarily London, Paris, and Vienna, several chapters, such as “Architecture as Language: Representation and Instruction” apply to all the
city halls on this site.)
Kiewert Walter, Deutsche Rathäuser; Dresden, 1961
Rosemann, H. R. and Wolf Strache, Deutsche Rathäuser; Stuttgart, 1952
Web Links
I’ve listed the links — my own and many from Wikipedia — in English where possible. Otherwise, the links lead to web pages in German.
Augsburg
https://arthur-chandler.squarespace.com/augsburg-notes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augsburg_Town_Hall
Bamberg
https://arthur-chandler.squarespace.com/bamberg-notes
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altes_Rathaus_(Bamberg)
Berlin
https://arthur-chandler.squarespace.com/berlin-notes
http://www.berlin.de/orte/sehenswuerdigkeiten/rotes-rathaus/
Bremen
https://arthur-chandler.squarespace.com/bremen-notes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremen_City_Hall
Cologne (Köln)
https://arthur-chandler.squarespace.com/new-page-1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cologne_City_Hall
Düsseldorf
https://arthur-chandler.squarespace.com/new-page-2
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rathaus_Düsseldorf
Frankfurt
https://arthur-chandler.squarespace.com/new-page-3
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Römer
Freiburg
https://arthur-chandler.squarespace.com/new-page-4
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rathaus_(Freiburg_im_Breisgau)
Gernsbach
116. Bibliography
Hamburg
https://arthur-chandler.squarespace.com/new-page-35
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamburg_Rathaus
Hannover
https://arthur-chandler.squarespace.com/new-page-62
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Town_Hall_(Hanover)
Hannover Old City Hall
https://arthur-chandler.squarespace.com/new-page-40
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altes_Rathaus_(Hannover)
Heidelberg
https://arthur-chandler.squarespace.com/new-page-12
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rathaus_(Heidelberg)
Lübeck
https://arthur-chandler.squarespace.com/new-page-51
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lübecker_Rathaus
Munich (München)
https://arthur-chandler.squarespace.com/new-page-69
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Town_Hall_(Munich)
Munich Old City Hall
https://arthur-chandler.squarespace.com/old-munich-notes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Town_Hall,_Munich
Neumunster
https://arthur-chandler.squarespace.com/tangermnde-notes
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altes_Rathaus_(Neumünster)
Nuremberg
https://arthur-chandler.squarespace.com/nuremberg-notes
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nürnberger_Rathaus
Paderborn
https://arthur-chandler.squarespace.com/new-page-38
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rathaus_Paderborn
Rothenburg
https://arthur-chandler.squarespace.com/rothenburg-notes
http://franken-wiki.de/index.php/Rathaus_Rothenburg
Schriesheim
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schriesheim (general information only)
Tangermünde
https://arthur-chandler.squarespace.com/neumnster-notes
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rathaus_Tangermünde
Wernigerode
http://www.hausgeschichte-wernigerode.de/looke.php?INDEX=24