Hamburg City Hall, Renaissance heritage building in Hamburg-Altstadt, Germany.
Hamburg City Hall is the seat of the senate and parliament in Hamburg-Altstadt and displays a facade in Renaissance Revival style with sandstone figures and reliefs. The building contains 647 rooms arranged around a central courtyard where the Hygieia fountain stands.
Construction began in 1886 after architects Martin Haller and others won a competition following a fire in 1842 that destroyed the previous city hall. The inauguration took place in 1897 once the structure was anchored on more than 4000 wooden piles driven into the marshy ground.
The balcony mosaic shows Hammonia, Hamburg's patron goddess, beside the city coat of arms and the Latin motto "Libertatem quam peperere maiores digne studeat servare posteritas." The Golden Book in the mayor's hall has been signed by dignitaries including Paul von Hindenburg and the Dalai Lama. The lobby is a public area used for concerts and exhibitions.
The lobby is a public area used for concerts and exhibitions. The Rathaus takes part in the Long Night of Museums under the motto "long night in centre of power". The tower is 112 metres high with 436 steps. The building stands at the Rathausmarkt, with the Binnenalster and Jungfernstieg quay directly north and Mönckebergstraße linking it to the central station.
A room in the tower was found by accident in 1971 during a search for a document that had fallen behind a filing cabinet, so the official count of 647 rooms may not be final. The building is often said to have more rooms than Buckingham Palace, but the palace has 775.
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