HAMBURG TOWN HALL

Hamburg's neo-Renaissance town hall was built between 1886 and 1897 by Martin Haller and impresses with its size and 112-meter high tower. It replaced the old town hall, which was destroyed in the fire of 1842. It is the seat of the authorities of the City-State of Hamburg and houses both the Parliament and the Senate. It actually rests on marshy ground and 4,000 oak pillars are needed to support it. It has no less than 637 rooms, richly decorated with gilding and marble. It was built with sandstone directly from Dresden.

On its façade, among the many statues that decorate it, one can distinguish Charlemagne and Barbarossa (the latter holding the document that served to make Hamburg a free port). The facade also features the coats of arms of the various Hanseatic cities, the coats of arms of the senators and the symbols of the various guilds. The sculpture of a large bird dominates. Although it appears to represent an eagle, it is in fact a phoenix, symbolizing the rebirth of Hamburg after the fire. If the Philharmonic is now criticized for costing ten times as much as it should have, it should be noted that the city hall cost twenty times as much at the time!

One can freely enter the hall of the city hall and the courtyard where there are fountains. They were the first drinking water fountains in the city. In the city hall, there was also heating and even air conditioning thanks to an external fountain cooling the rooms through underground passages. This fountain is the one of Hygieia, in the main courtyard of the city hall. It represents the goddess of hygiene having defeated the dragon of cholera. In her hand, she holds a bowl of pure water... This sculpture pays tribute to the 8,600 victims of the cholera epidemic that struck Hamburg in 1892.

On the walls of the hall you can see the faces of the different deputies, their names and... their jobs! Indeed, and this is one of the specificities of Hamburg's political organization, the deputies continue to work. They only come to the town hall twice a month, on Wednesdays. The rest of the time, they continue their careers. This is a historical system, in those days the merchants worked at the stock exchange, right across the street, and then moved from commerce to politics in a few meters. A beautiful lesson in history and politics.