Rathaus Düsseldorf, Renaissance town hall in Altstadt, Germany

Rathaus Düsseldorf is the city hall complex on the Marktplatz in the Altstadt, made up of five wings. The oldest is the Altes Rathaus of 1573, built of unplastered red brick in a mix of late Gothic and Renaissance forms, with an octagonal five-storey stair tower flanked by openwork gables. Next to it stand the Neues Rathaus and the former Grupello-Haus of 1706; the postwar Marktplatz 6 building, the former east wing of the Gemäldegalerie and the former Kunstgewerbeschule facing the Rhine complete the group.

The oldest wing, the Altes Rathaus at Marktplatz 1, was built from 1570/73 under master builder Heinrich Tuschmann, with a design attributed to Alessandro Pasqualini. In 1706 Matteo Alberti built the Grupello-Haus next door; the Neues Rathaus followed in 1888, its tower taken down around 1922 for structural reasons. Damaged in the Second World War, the historicist building was not reconstructed; the 1960s remodelling absorbed Grupello's former house.

The Rathaus surrounds the Marktplatz, whose centre holds the Jan-Wellem equestrian monument, a landmark of Düsseldorf. Until 1806 the Old Town Hall also hosted the assembly of the estates of the duchies of Jülich-Berg. The building at Marktplatz 3, built in 1706 by Matteo Alberti for the sculptor Gabriel de Grupello, now houses the council faction offices.

The building sits centrally on a large square that is easily walkable and connected by several tram and bus stops nearby. Plan to visit during daylight hours and check opening times in advance, especially if you want to join a guided tour.

The Neues Rathaus tower, completed in 1888, was demolished around 1922 because of structural problems, and the historicist building damaged in the war was not rebuilt afterwards. The former Grupello-Haus of 1706, built by Matteo Alberti for the sculptor Gabriel de Grupello, was absorbed into the complex in the 1960s.