Old City Hall

With its varied façades, the Old City Hall, which was built in 1422 as a merchants’ and excise building, is the jewel of Esslingen. The south face is adorned with ”Allemanisch” timber-framing, while the northern face was extensively modernized during the renaissance, and since then has sported a small, two-story clock tower. Inside the clock tower is a glockenspiel, which was donated by the citizens of Esslingen in 1926 on the occasion of the building’s renovation. The glockenspiel has a repertoire of 200 tunes, which can be heard at various times throughout the day. The preserved original clock mechanism from the astronomical clock of 1591 is among the oldest in Germany. The wings of an eagle, the heraldic emblem of the former imperial city, beat in accordance with the striking of the hour.

References:

• esslingen.de

Address

Rathausplatz 1, Esslingen am Neckar, Germany

Details

Founded: 1422
Category: Palaces, manors and town halls in Germany
Historical period: Habsburg Dynasty (Germany)