Rathaus Retz, Medieval town hall in Retz, Austria

Rathaus Retz stands on Retz's Hauptplatz, built from a Gothic chapel whose conversion stalled for lack of money and was finished by the town as a house containing both a town hall and a chapel. Between 1568 and 1569 a flat vault split the tall Gothic chapel into two storeys: the chapel stayed on the ground floor, while the upper floor gained a Bürgersaal, a Ratssaal and other rooms. The divided Gothic windows were replaced by short Renaissance windows, the steep Gothic roof by a Grabendach, and the upper floor is reached by an outside staircase. The square-based Gothic tower was rebuilt in 1572 as a four-sided structure with a sheet-metal Renaissance roof.

The Gothic chapel on Retz's main square was badly damaged when the Hussites took the town; in 1437 the Passau auxiliary bishop Matthias re-consecrated it with its three altars. Between 1515 and 1520 it was rebuilt and enlarged, and in 1520 the priest's choir and four altars were consecrated. In 1560 the city and Provost Leopold Hagen agreed to house chapel and town hall in one building, and the 1568–1569 works divided the Gothic hall with a flat vault into two storeys.

The building is still called Rathaus, but the council chamber was set up in a neighbouring noble house bought in 1512, not in the chapel itself. The chapel below kept its function: silent Masses were still permitted there by imperial decree in 1786, after the Josephinian reforms threatened closure.

Access is available from the town's main square, where the building maintains its prominent position. Since it is an active administrative building, some areas may not be accessible during regular hours.

The Gothic windows were split when a flat vault divided the tall chapel into two storeys in 1568–1569; short Renaissance windows replaced them and the steep Gothic roof gave way to a Grabendach. The upper floor is reached by an outside staircase, and the former west entrance was walled up, with a new one cut on the south side.