Old Town Hall

The Old Town Hall (Altes Rathaus) on Marienplatz in Munich is an important architectural landmark that closes off the eastern side of the central square. The late Gothic secular building was constructed between 1470 and 1480 by cathedral master builder Jörg von Halsbach and served as the seat of Munich's city council until 1874. An older building originally stood on this site, but it was struck by lightning in 1460 and destroyed. The present building once housed the city jail in its cellar and the bread hall on the ground floor. The architectural highlight is the spacious council and banquet hall, which is decorated with an elaborate wooden barrel-vaulted ceiling and a frieze of 99 city coats of arms. Particularly famous are Erasmus Grasser's wooden sculptures of the Morris dancers, although only copies are on display in the hall today, while the originals are kept in the Munich City Museum.

Over the centuries, the building was remodeled several times, including a Baroque makeover of the facade in the 17th century and a Neo-Gothic redesign by Arnold Zenetti in the 1860s, which created the distinctive crenellated gable. After the city administration moved to the New Town Hall in 1874, the Old Town Hall lost its administrative function. During World War II, the building was heavily damaged, and the tower even had to be blown up in 1944. Reconstruction took place in several phases, and the banquet hall was not restored until 1977. The 56-meter-high town hall tower was rebuilt between 1971 and 1974 based on the Gothic original of 1493. At the top of the tower hangs the so-called Market Bell, which strikes every hour and half hour and is rung for two minutes shortly before 11 a.m. on weekdays.

Today, the Old Town Hall serves exclusively ceremonial purposes for the mayor, the city council, and the city administration. Visitors can tour the historic banquet hall and admire the elaborate details of the Gothic architecture. The tower also houses the Toy Museum, which has displayed the private collection of caricaturist Ivan Steiger since 1983. On view are wooden and tin toys, dolls, teddy bears, as well as vintage model trains and steam engines. Since 2020, the museum has been run by Steiger's daughter Helena and offers a fascinating glimpse into the history of toys.