Bremen - City Hall

(Local Name: Rathaus) The Town Hall in Bremen is a brick-built Gothic structure (1405-10), with a sumptuous Renaissance facade added in 1609-12. On its east side is the New Town Hall (1912). The Old Town Hall has one of the most elegant banqueting and reception halls in Germany (40 m/130ft long, 13 m/43ft wide, 8 m/26ft high), with a large mural painting of the "Judgment of Solomon" (1537). This is the scene of the annual Schaffermahlzeit, a traditional meal for ship-owners and seamen. On the side facing the market is a richly carved spiral staircase.

Under the northwest tower can be seen a bronze group (by Gerhard Marcks, 1953) of the "Bremen Town Musicians" (a donkey, a dog, a cat and a cock who feature in an old folk tale).