A new town hall for Hamburg

October 26, 1897 is a Tuesday, but a holiday in Hamburg. Public buildings and ships in the harbor are flagged. The children have no school and since nine in the morning chorales have been sung from the towers of the five main churches.

An hour later, festive orchestral music can be heard on the town hall square and around eleven o'clock the senators in full regalia move into the large ballroom, in which 650 invited guests have already gathered:senior officials and officers in uniform, diplomats in brightly embroidered tails, clergymen in robes, Members of important Hamburg families and the mayors of neighboring cities with their heavy golden chains of office.

They have all come to witness the inauguration of an important building. After many years of disputes and discussions, the new town hall is inaugurated. Eleven years have passed since the foundation stone was laid. The construction costs, estimated at around 4.5 million gold marks, have more than doubled to 11 million, today that would be around 80 million euros. But the new building is also particularly magnificent. "We will first have to get used to the elegance and the many large rooms," admits Mayor Mönckeberg.

Hamburg hasn't had a town hall for 55 years

For 55 years, the Senate and citizenship were homeless, only provisionally accommodated in alternative quarters such as the orphanage on Admiralitätsstrasse after the old town hall on Trostbrücke had to be blown up during the "Great Fire" in May 1842 to prevent the devastating fire from spreading. Since then, numerous architectural competitions have been held, and almost 200 designs have been submitted and rejected.

Only when Martin Haller, the son of a Hamburg senator, took the initiative did things start to move. The trained architect made building the town hall his life's work and founded the town hall builders' association in 1880. The association of nine Hamburg architects was able to convince with their opulent design and set to work from 1886.

Built on thousands of oak poles

Around 4,000 oak posts, twelve meters long, have to be rammed into the marshy ground at the new location on the Kleine Alster. The construction workers are pouring a meter-thick concrete foundation over this, on which the massive base made of Bornholm granite will later be erected.

As a sign of power, a 112 meter high tower towers above all buildings in the city center that were rebuilt after the great fire. The legendary phoenix bird rising from the ashes under the large clock and a relief of the old town hall with the year 1842 are reminiscent of this structure.

Low wings connect the main building with the stock exchange, the proximity symbolizes the close connection between the politicians and the merchants of the city republic. The fountain in the courtyard of the town hall is dedicated to Hygieia, the Greek goddess of health, as a reminder of the cholera epidemic that killed 8,605 people just five years earlier.

The well as air conditioning

The fountain is a technical marvel:it acts as the entrance to an air conditioning system that supplies the town hall with fresh air. There are openings in its base through which fresh air, cooled by the constantly flowing well water, is drawn in and fed into the individual offices and halls with the help of electrically operated fans. The exhaust air extracted in the same way is directed to the tower, where it exits through openings in the helmet.

In winter, district heating is used - with steam generated in the boilers of the electrical center in Poststrasse and fed into the building through underground pipes.

Seat of government, parliament and authorities

From now on, the Senate, Parliament, Finance Deputation, the State Archives and other authorities will work under one roof in the new building. Soon after its opening, the population can visit the town hall. Construction continued until 1901, and the original design was allegedly changed so much that Martin Haller gave up his life's work. He is said not to have entered the building again until his death in 1925.

647 rooms are located inside the town hall, including numerous large and small halls and meeting rooms. The heart of the building is formed by the senate hall, in which the city government still holds its deliberations today, and the boardroom of the citizenship, the Hanseatic city’s representative body. In March 1919 she was democratically elected for the first time by all Hamburg residents of full age.

The Rathausmarkt is a place for demonstrations

Again and again, the town hall becomes the target of political protests:in 1906, thousands of angry workers demonstrate against a planned tightening of voting rights, in the revolution in November 1918 the socialist workers' and soldiers' council takes power, at the rally "Fight nuclear death" Mayor Max Brauer warns in April 1958 the more than 120,000 demonstrators in front of the atomic armament of the Bundeswehr. And in October 1983, tens of thousands of demonstrators against the NATO double-track decision gather here.

State guests keep coming

The first mayors have already received numerous distinguished guests in the town hall, including some memorable events. Haile Selassie, for example, the Emperor of Ethiopia, had two elephant tusks and two spears presented as gifts in 1954, and protesting students received the Shah of Persia in 1967. According to old custom, the mayor awaits the guests at the top of the town hall steps. Only Paul Nevermann walks a few steps towards the Queen in 1965.

Today, City Hall is still the seat of government, administrative headquarters, and the parliament building, as well as being one of the city's top tourist attractions. It is open to visitors daily, and benches in the hall invite you to linger. And just like 120 years ago, fresh drinking water still gushes into the metal basin next to the mighty entrance door.