Altes Rathaus, Historical town hall in Hambach an der Weinstraße, Germany.
Altes Rathaus is a Baroque building in the Hambach district of Neustadt an der Weinstraße, standing at 182 metres directly on the German Wine Route within the Mittelhambach monument zone. It is a hipped-roof structure built to plans by Speyer master builder Johann Georg Stahl, with a bell added in 1826 and a tower clock in 1868. Cellar arcades bear the year 1912, and sandstone figures of Saint James (1986) and Saint Anne (1987) by sculptor Walter Bauer adorn the west side.
Built between 1739 and 1741 under Prince Bishop Damian Hugo Philipp von Schönborn-Buchheim, cardinal and knight of the Teutonic Order, the building served as Hambach's town hall. In 1935 the municipal administration moved to the Oberhambach schoolhouse, and the building lost its original purpose. It regained its role as town hall in 1983; since then the Hambach local council has met here, after Hambach was incorporated into Neustadt an der Weinstraße in 1969.
Two sandstone figures on the western facade show Saint James and Saint Anne, carved by sculptor Walter Bauer in the 1980s. They are easy to spot from the street and give the building a personal, local touch that sets it apart from purely civic architecture.
The building stands at 182 metres on the Deutsche Weinstraße, within the Mittelhambach monument zone, and the Rathausbrunnen of 1911 stands beside it. The cellar arcades are marked with the year 1912. Two information panels in Hambach cover the building, one on its construction history and one on its role in the Hambach Festival.
The building has two information panels, unlike other Hambach sites: one titled "Altes Rathaus mit Brunnen" covers its construction history, the other, "Altes Rathaus in Neustadt-Hambach", its role in the Hambacher Fest, whose approval and logistics the local council handled. The Rathausplatz also served as a filming location for the 2018–2019 TV series Weingut Wader.
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