Altes Rathaus, Munich

Altes Rathaus is the historic town hall enclosing the eastern edge of Marienplatz. Its present form comes from a late medieval rebuilding led by Jörg von Halsbach between 1470 and 1480, and the building served Munich’s municipal government until 1874. The stepped gable and tall tower give the façade a ceremonial, almost theatrical presence.

Inside, the great hall preserves a richly carved wooden ceiling and a frieze carrying 99 municipal coats of arms. Erasmus Grasser created the wooden Morris dancers for this room; the figures visible there today are copies, while the originals belong to the Munich City Museum. The hall has also witnessed darker history: Joseph Goebbels delivered a speech here on November 9, 1938, regarded as the opening signal of the Kristallnacht pogrom.

Air attack in 1944 severely damaged the building, and the tower was later reconstructed from its Gothic design between 1971 and 1974. Since the municipal administration moved away, the hall has been used for ceremonial occasions involving Munich’s mayor, city council, and administration. The tower also houses a toy museum, with wooden and tin toys, dolls, teddy bears, trains, and steam engines from Ivan Steiger’s collection.