Rathaus Delmenhorst, City hall in Delmenhorst, Germany.

Rathaus Delmenhorst is an administrative complex made up of several parts: a main building, a former fire station, a water tower about 42 meters tall, and a plaza in front. The ensemble still serves as the center of the city's administration today.

The water tower went up first, begun in spring 1909 and opened on 29 April 1910; the fire station followed. The main administrative block was started only in 1912, its design revised, and finished in 1914, when the council met in the great hall for the first time on 10 September. Heinz Stoffregen had won the 1908 competition, chosen in January 1909 to carry out his scheme together with Gerrit Emmingmann's plan for the square.

The city hall sits at Rathausplatz and shows how a city wanted to organize its administration and services in the early 1900s. The interior furnishings and details designed by Stoffregen give a sense of how officials and visitors moved through such buildings back then.

The city hall is located centrally at Rathausplatz and is easy to reach for visitors who need city services or want to see the architecture. It's worth checking opening hours and conditions for tours in advance, since the building primarily functions as an administrative center.

The water tower was finished first: construction began in spring 1909 and it opened on 29 April 1910, two years before work on the main administrative building started in 1912. A strike by construction workers had delayed the tower by two months. Its 42-metre height made it the tallest element of the ensemble.