Altes Rathaus, Gothic town hall in Erkelenz, Germany
The Altes Rathaus is a late Gothic brick building on Erkelenz's market square, resting on square pillars. Its ground floor has open arcades, above them the council hall, and storage rooms under the roof. A stone beside the entrance gives 1546 as the year of completion.
A market house is documented in Erkelenz by 1326, used for linen trade and administration. The great fire of 21 June 1540 destroyed it along with the town's charters. In 1541 the stonemason Jan van Vyrß was commissioned to rebuild; the completion year 1546 is carved on a stone beside the entrance.
The council chamber displays five valuable Flemish tapestries purchased in Munich during the 1960s, showing wedding scenes and card players. These works give the interior its character and tell of the artistic collections the city gathered over time.
The town hall was renovated in 2013: the roof was re-covered with slate and several walled-up arcades were reopened. Three of the five arcade bays on the long side are now open, and the middle bay on the short side is fully glazed, so visitors can look from the street into the ground floor.
The 1756 alterations also added a Rococo portal and a police station with an arrest cell; its small barred window still sits to the right of the street entrance. The pinnacles and corner turrets removed that year left projections still visible in the masonry.
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