Munich’s neue rathaus (“new city hall“) is located at the historical city center, and has one of the biggest mechanical carillons in Europe, the “Glockenspiel”.
The new city hall was under construction from 1867 – 1909, made from plans by architect Georg von Hauberrisser.
Hauberrisser used Gothic Revival style in planning the building, taking inspiration from, for example, the city hall in Vienna.
The limestone new city hall covers a total area of 9,159 m² (2.3 acres), including six inner courtyards, and there are 400 rooms in the building.
PHOTO: New city hall, as seen from the Sankt-Peter-Kirche tower’s observation platform.
PHOTO: The Gothic Revival building has many statues, including (pictured) equestrian statue of Prince-Regent Luitpold, de facto ruler of Bavaria from 1886-1912.
PHOTO: Gargoyle sculptures at an inner courtyard within the new city hall. The inner courtyard, which is accessible through a portal that goes under the Glockenspiel, has, for example, Rathauskeller restaurant.
PHOTO: A highlight of the new city hall building is a mechanical carillon, “Glockenspiel”, on the 85-meter (278 ft) tall central tower. Glockenspiel portrays events from Munich’s history, daily, at 11am, 12 (midday), and 5pm. The 5pm show is cancelled November-February.
As an administrative building, Munich new city hall has offices for the Mayor of Munich and for the elected city representatives.
The building and its square, Marienplatz, are used for local celebrations and major events, especially when local sports teams have victories…
…with the team captains showing trophies to the people from the mayor’s balcony, located just under the mechanical carillon.
That mechanical carillon, Glockenspiel, at the 85-meter (278 ft) tall new city hall tower (“Münchner Kindl“), is, in fact, the 5th largest mechanical carillon in Europe.
Glockenspiel’s 43 bells play four different tunes, and its mechanical portrayal is made with the help of 32 different characters.
These characters play out different historical events related to Munich, including…
- “Schäfflertanz” and
- a jousting tournament from wedding of Bavarian Duke Wilhelm V to Renata of Lorraine (which took place in 1568).
The show lasts a little under 15 minutes. You’ll know when the show ends, with the mechanical owl — just above the glockenspiel — hoots several times.
The tower also has an observation platform, offering some of the best views to Munich. You can get to the platform using an elevator.
Munich Neue Rathaus
Address: Marienplatz 8, 80331 Munich, Germany
Official website: www.muenchen.de
The tourist office has answers to visitor questions, related to, for example, Munich events, restaurants, and things to do & see.