Ratshof, City hall in Halle, Germany.
Ratshof is the city hall located on Halle's marketplace, featuring a substantial corner tower and tall windows distributed across five administrative levels. The structure forms the eastern boundary of the expanded marketplace and continues to serve as the city's central administrative building.
The building was constructed in the late 1920s as a modern administrative center for the city. It replaced the Old City Hall, which was destroyed during World War II, and marked the city's infrastructure renewal after the conflict.
The building showcases New Objectivity design with expressionist elements visible in its facades and decorative details. This architectural language shaped public buildings of the era and continues to define the marketplace character today.
The main entrance facing the marketplace is clearly visible and leads to various administrative offices. Keep in mind that this is an active government building, so access is generally available during municipal office hours.
Plans exist to reconstruct the destroyed Old City Hall, which would conceal this modern structure from the marketplace side. This illustrates how urban planning decisions can reshape what visitors see when they look at a city's history.
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