Stadtmetzg Augsburg, Renaissance guild hall in Augsburg, Germany
The Stadtmetzg is a Renaissance building with a strictly horizontal facade and stepped gables interrupted by geometrically arranged windows and decorative portals. The ground floor once held around 126 sales stalls, while the upper floors accommodated guild meetings and administrative work.
Construction took place between 1606 and 1609 under architect Elias Holl as the central marketplace for butchers in the imperial city. The building stands as evidence of Augsburg's economic prosperity during that period.
The building was the heart of the butchering trade and shows how important this guild was to Augsburg. The way the sales areas were arranged tells you how the profession was organized in the city.
The building sits at Hinter der Metzg 6 and is relatively easy to find in the old town. The facade can be viewed from the street, though the interior now serves as an administrative office.
A channel from the Lech river runs beneath the building and was originally designed to cool meat and manage waste. This clever engineering shows how creatively Augsburg used its water system.
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