Berlin - Red Town Hall

(Local Name: Rotes Rathaus) The successor to the 16th C. town hall in Berlin, the present Red Town Hall was designed by Hermann Friedrich Waesemann and built between 1861-69 - a massive Neo-Renaissance building laid out round three inner courtyards with a tower 74 m/243ft high. The foundation stone was laid in June, 1861, in the presence of King William I, and the first meeting of the Town Council was held at the end of 1865, although the building was in fact not completed until late in 1869. It soon became known as the Red Town Hall, from the red brick of which it was built - and perhaps also on account of the democratic spirit shown by the municipal authorities even in the time of the Empire. In March, 1945, the Town Hall was badly damaged in a bombing raid and it was 1955 before it could be used again. The dominant feature of the Red Town Hall is the clock tower above the main entrance. Round the building at first-floor level extends the "Chronicle" (Chronik), a series of 36 terra-cotta reliefs depicting the history of Berlin (by L. Brodwolf, O. Geyer, R. Schweinitz and A. Calandrelli). Concerts are regularly held in the heraldic room. In front of the Town Hall are two statues, the "Trümmerfrau" (a woman clearing rubble) and the "Aufbauhelfer" (a worker assisting in the reconstruction of Berlin).