Old city hall

The old town hall in the historic city centre of Fulda is one of a number of venerable, historic buildings in the Hessian baroque city. Originally built around 1500 and now reconstructed and renovated, the impressive half-timbered building served as the town hall for the citizens of the town until 1782. Today it houses shops. With its striking appearance, the old town hall is one of the most photographed monuments in Fulda.

Characteristic architectural monument

The old town hall is a classic example of late Gothic half-timbered non-sacred buildings from the 16th and 17th centuries. As is characteristic of the Gothic period, the pointed arches of the arcades, as well as the pointed roof towers, reach towards the sky. The façade is largely equipped with the cross-bar windows common to Gothic secular buildings, but also in part with tracery-decorated pointed arch windows. A façade tower adorns the corner of the complex. Opulent ornamentation and finials are less common on the old town hall, but the green half-timbered pattern under the tile-red roof is a beautiful complementary contrast that is directly eye-catching and nowadays very popular with tourists for snapshots.

A few years ago, the old town hall was renovated by the city and, at least as far as the inner values are concerned, modernized. The historical components of the wooden construction and the roof were worked out and emphasized in order to bring out the gothic character more. The green colour contrast, however, probably does not originate from the 15th century; the original colour scheme was not documented and unfortunately could no longer be traced.

History filled with life

The square "Unterm heilig Kreuz" was the economic and political centre of Fulda under Emperor Heinrich II. It is only a few steps from here to the old town hall. Initially, all kinds of trade was conducted in the large hall on the ground floor, but meetings were also held there. The characteristic arcades, which were still open at that time, have been preserved to this day as a feature of the lower part of the building. The upper floors housed the town hall meeting rooms and armoury until 1782.

During its years as the council chamber, the old town hall survived the Thirty Years' War. Its importance as a political hub was lost at the end of the 18th century when the town council moved to the Chancellor's Palace, also located on the square "Unterm heilig Kreuz". However, the use of the Gothic half-timbered building as a place of trade and exchange has been preserved for more than 500 years. Today, the three-storey corner building houses various shops and offices. The colourful life and hustle and bustle of Fulda's citizens thus takes place today, just as it did 500 years ago, in the rooms of the old town hall.