Germany - Bamberg, Old Town Hall

There is quite a story - don’t know if it is true - around the construction of the old town hall (,i>Altes Rathaus): the bishop of Bamberg refused to allocate land to the city’s residents for the construction of a town hall. This prompted the townsfolk to ram stakes into the river Regnitz to create an artificial island, on which they built the town hall they wanted.

The town hall was built in 1386, originally influenced by Gothic, it became Baroque and Rococo elements in the middle of the 18th century. The murals on the exterior walls were painted by Johann Anwander. The frescoes never fail to impress as they lend the facades a three-dimensional quality achieved with trompe d'oeil architecture. The combination with traditional timber framing makes the building unique. For a good reason the old town hall is Bamberg’s landmark and (most probably) its most photographed building.

Today the building houses a museum with the so called Ludwig Collection.