Old town hall
Even from afar, it catches the eye of onlookers: the imposing tower of the Old Town Hall. Here, in a central location, a building was erected that occupies the first place among the secular buildings in Regensburg. The Old Town Hall was built when Regensburg was elevated to the status of a Free Imperial City in 1245.
The oldest part is the 55 meter high tower. Around 1320/1330, the Reichssaal building was erected with the Reich Hall, which was originally intended as a dance hall. The building had its heyday from 1663, when the Perpetual Diet met exclusively in Regensburg in the Old City Hall for almost 150 years. For centuries, not only did the heart of the Free Imperial City of Regensburg beat here, the Reichstag Hall is considered the forerunner of the German parliaments, the European Union and even the UN. Probably the Old Town Hall in Regensburg was the most important building in Europe at that time. Here you can literally feel the past until today. Legendary are the festivals that were celebrated here. A love affair between an emperor and a burgher's daughter even went down in European history. The offspring who came to fame can be admired as a statue (Don Juan de Austria) just around the corner (Zieroldsplatz).
A special feature has also been preserved in the basement of the Old Town Hall. The "Fragstatt" with the torture tools is preserved in the original and can be visited with guided tours. The late Gothic pointed arch portal with the city keys and the two armored and armed half figures, called Schutz und Trutz, symbolizing the city's fortitude, became an important landmark of Regensburg early on.
You should not miss this:
- Treat yourself to a guided tour and visit the historic Imperial Hall in the Old Town Hall, the Imperial Diet Museum with the consultation room of the Imperial Estates, the document collection and the original preserved Fragstatt - the torture chamber of the Middle Ages. It is worth it!
- Just around the corner you will find the statue of Don Juan de Austria.
- Opposite the historic town hall is one of the first café houses in Germany, which opened its doors to the high lords in 1686.
