Historical alte rathaus (“old city hall”) was Munich city council’s meeting place up to 1874.
The old city hall is mentioned in history books as early as 1310, when it already formed the eastern end to Marienplatz.
That old building was destroyed, however, when a lighting strike set the building on fire in 1460.
To replace the destroyed old city hall (with the current version), building work began in 1470, continuing to 1480.
The late Gothic style construction was done under supervision from Jörg von Halsbach, a master cathedral builder.
PHOTO: The old city hall, as seen from Marienplatz.
PHOTO: Highlights of the building include (pictured) sculpture of Emperor Ludwig IV (Holy Roman Empire ruler from 1328-1347), by Konrad Knoll, on the western facade.
PHOTO: The building also has Konrad Knoll’s sculpture of Munich’s founder, (Duke of Bavaria) Henry the Lion, on the eastern facade.
The old city hall building has been rebuild several times throughout the centuries, once in Renaissance (1778/79)…
…and later by Arnold Zenetti, in “historismus” architecture style, from 1861 – 1864.
Apart from exteriors, inside the city hall, you’ll find highlights such as the “Ganghofer hall“, a design by Hans Wengler.
When the nearby “neue rathaus“, the new city hall of Munich, opened its doors in 1874, the old city hall became a place for formal receptions and state events (rather than a meeting place for the city council).
The old city hall was badly damaged during WWII. Rebuilding took place (using mostly its historical Gothic style) from 1953-1977.
One of the highlights of the building is the 56-meter tall “Talburgturm”, from 1493, part of the building from it’s first version.
Today, Talburgturm contains a toy museum, with collections from Ivan Steiger.
The toy museum’s exhibitions include…
- old model railways,
- historical American and European dolls, and
- tin toy soldiers.
The Toy Museum’s official website is located at www.spielzeugmuseum-muenchen.de.