Town hall of Kempten, Town hall in Kempten, Germany

The Town Hall of Kempten is a massive, plain stone building erected in 1474 on the elongated Rathausplatz, its dimensions matching the present structure. Its current facade dates from the 1930s. A small tower with a bell stands on the western gable, and the Rathausbrunnen from the 17th century stands directly in front of it.

The town hall traces back to a 1368 timber building used as a granary, first recorded as the council's seat in 1382. In 1474 the imperial city replaced it with a plain stone building of the present dimensions, financed by a loan of 3000 pounds Heller from St. Mang's church. In the 1560s the building was embellished and a tower with a small bell from the Erasmus chapel was added to the west gable.

The town hall stands on Rathausplatz, the core of the medieval imperial city, where the former market square was the economic and social centre of the free imperial city from the late Middle Ages. The elongated western area was called Markt-Gasse. Directly in front of the building stands the 17th-century Rathausbrunnen fountain.

The town hall still houses the city council, the events office and the mayor's offices, so the interior is a working administrative building rather than a museum. The 1930s facade and the 16th-century tower on the west gable are best seen from the Rathausplatz, where the 17th-century Rathausbrunnen stands directly in front.

Only the free imperial city had a town hall; the prince-abbey of Kempten, with its own town west of the wall, never built one. The council met in shops and storerooms until 1382, when a 1368 granary was first recorded as also serving as Rathaus, so the words Kornhaus and Rathaus were used as synonyms.