- Hamburg Rathaus
Infobox building
building_name =
native_building_name= Hamburger Rathaus de icon
former_names =
caption = Town hall of Hamburg.
map_type =
building_type = Town hall
architectural_style =
structural_system =
cost = 11 million German gold mark
location =Hamburg ,Germany
address = Rathausmarkt 1 20095 Hamburg Germany
client = Government of Hamburg
owner =Government of Hamburg
current_tenants =
landlord =
coordinates = coord|53|33|1|N|9|59|32|E|region:DE-HH_type:landmark|display=inline,title
start_date = 1886
completion_date =
inauguration_date = 1897
demolition_date =
destruction_date =
height = 112 metres
diameter =
other_dimensions =
floor_count =
floor_area = 17,000 m²
main_contractor =
architect = Main architect: Martin Haller
structural_engineer =
services_engineer =
civil_engineer =
other_designers =
quantity_surveyor =
awards =
references = TheHamburg Rathaus is located in the "Altstadt" quarter in the centre of Hamburg,Germany , near the lakeBinnenalster and the central station. It is the seat of thegovernment of Hamburg . Constructed from 1886 to 1897, the city hall still houses its original governmental functions with the office of the First Mayor of Hamburg and the meeting rooms for the parliament and the senate of Hamburg.History
After the old city hall was destroyed in the great fire of 1842, it took almost 44 years to build a new one. The present building was designed by a group of seven architects, led by Martin Haller. Construction started in 1886 and the new city hall was inaugurated in 1897. Its cost was 11 million
German gold mark s, about €80 million.Citation |title=Kleiner Rathausführer |year=2006 |location=Hamburg |publisher=State Chancellery |year=2006 de icon] On October 26, 1897 at the official opening ceremony the First Mayor Dr. Johannes Versmann received the key of the city hall. [Demizlaff, p. 35]The city hall took center stage at many historical moments for Hamburg. On May 3, 1945 the Nazi commander in chief General Woltz surrendered Hamburg to the British Army. Heads of state visited Hamburg and its city hall, among them were Emperor Haile Selassie I, the Shahanshah
Mohammed Reza Pahlavi in 1955, and in 1965 Queen Elizabeth II. An emotionally moving service of remembrance was held on the market-square for the victims of theNorth Sea flood of 1962 . Happier moments were the celebrations of theGerman football champions "Hamburger SV ". [Domizlaff, p. 36]In 1971 a room in the tower was only discovered accidentally during a search for a document fallen behind a filing cabinet. So there is a probability that there are even more rooms than the currently counted 647 rooms. [Domzilaff, p. 28]
Architecture
On the outside the architectural style is neo-renaissance, which is abandoned inside for several historical elements. Build in period of wealth and prosperity, in which the
Kingdom of Prussia and its confederates defeatedFrance in the Franco-German War and theGerman Empire was formed, the look of the new Hamburg Rathaus should express this wealth and also the independence of the State of Hamburg and Hamburg's republican traditions. [Citation |last=Kay |first=Carolyn Helen |year=2002 |title=Art and the German bourgeoisie: Alfred Lichtwark and modern painting in Hamburg, 1886-1914. |place=Toronto |publisher= University of Toronto Press |page= 68 |isbn=9780802009227 ] The city hall has a total area of convert|17000|m²|0|abbr=on, not including the restaurant "Ratsweinkeller" of convert|2900|m²|0|abbr=on. The tower is convert|112|m|0 high with 436 steps. The city hall of Hamburg has 647 rooms, six rooms more thanBuckingham Palace , on a building area of convert|5400|m²|0|abbr=on.Citation |last=Domizlaff |first=Svante |title=Das Hamburger Rathaus |year=2002 |location=Hamburg |publisher=Edition Maritim |edition=2nd edition |isbn=9783892254652 de icon] [Citation |last=Cook |first=William |title=Here, there and everywhere |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2002/apr/27/germany.hamburg.culturaltrips/print |date=2002-04-27 |publisher=The Guardian |journal=Travel features |page=p. 6 |accessdate=2008-09-01 ]The balcony is surmounted by a
mosaic of Hamburg's patron goddessHammonia , an inscription of the city's latinmotto "Libertatem quam peperere maiores digne studeat servare posteritas" [Description of the picture on commons] (English: May posterity strive to preserve the freedom won by our elders) and the city'scoat of arms .The courtyard is decorated with a
Hygieia fountain. Hygieia as the goddess of health in Greek mythology and its surrounding figures represents the power and pureness of the water. It was built in remembrance of thecholera epidemic in 1892, the former technical purpose was air cooling in the city hall.Functions
The lobby is a public area used for concerts and exhibitions. It is open to the public. The emperor's hall in the first floor is the second-largest representation hall, named after Wilhelm II and functions as a room for official presentations. The mayor's hall was planned as a small meeting room. In the room as of 2008 the entry in the city's Golden Book take place, which was done by many dignitaries including the former German President
Paul von Hindenburg and the Dalai Lama. [Citation |title=Dalai Lama Begins Visit to Germany With Criticism of China |publisher=dalailama.com |date=2007-07-19 |url=http://www.dalailama.com/news.146.htm| accessdate=2008-08-14 ] In the left wing is the floor of theHamburg Parliament . The 121 representatives meet in a room that was renovated duringNazi Germany . Only three fields on the ceiling shows its original decoration.
St. Petri's church on the cityhall, in the background the church of St. Michaelis "Michel".
The_Portal.Image:Hhrathausotto1.jpg|Detail_of_the_balcony_(Otto I).jpg|The_latin_motto.Image:Hamburg-Rathaus-Eingangshalle.jpg|The_lobby.Image:Hamburger_Buergerschaft.jpg|Floor_of_the_parliament.)
Neighborhood
The city hall is located in the center of Hamburg. In front is a market-square, the "Rathausmarkt", used for events and festivals. On the backside of the town hall is the Hamburg stock exchange. The main shopping street "Mönckebergstaße" connect the town hall with the central station. The "
Binnenalster " with the Jungfernstieg station and quay for the Alster ships is directly north of the Rathaus. An architectural landmark nearby is the St. Peter's Church.References
External links
* [http://www.hamburgische-buergerschaft.de/cms_en.php?templ=bes_sta.tpl&sub1=223&cont=333 Hamburgische Bürgerschaft - Welcome to Hamburg City Hall!] official website of the Hamburg Parliament "(Hamburgische Bürgerschaft)"
* [http://english.hamburg.de/attractions-hamburg/293996/city-hall-hamburg-attraction-english.html City Hall] on hamburg.de
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