Old town hall, Administrative building in Bamberg, Germany.

The Altes Rathaus stands on an artificial island in the Regnitz, built into the river between the Bergstadt and Inselstadt. A tall square tower of light brown stone blocks with a steep hipped roof and a small turret with a red-brown cupola adjoins a three-storey half-timbered wing with white plaster panels, dark brown beams, small square windows and a red tiled gable roof. A stone arch passes beneath the building.

The Old Town Hall was first mentioned in 1387 and rebuilt between 1461 and 1467 in Gothic style. Johann Jakob Michael Küchel remodelled it in Baroque and Rococo forms from 1744 to 1756. The site on an artificial island in the Regnitz marked the border between the bishop's hill town and the citizens' island town.

The facade paintings, first made by Johann Anwander in 1755, were repainted by Anton Greiner between 1959 and 1962 as illusionistic allegories and architectural details. On the east side, look for a putto's leg modelled in three dimensions that projects from the painted wall. The Rottmeisterhäuschen, the half-timbered house attached to the bridge tower, housed the leaders of the guard.

Small bridges connect the island to both riverbanks, making it easy to approach from different directions. Visitors can explore freely or join guided tours that explain the rooms and share stories about the building's past.

The legend that citizens drove piles into the Regnitz to create an island is contradicted by the actual boundary, which ran below the Domberg and is still marked on the steps at Katzenberg. The site more likely joined the two civic districts, the Sandgebiet below the cathedral and the Inselstadt. A plaque in the passage recalls that the German Red Cross was founded in the Rococo hall on 25 January 1921.