Berlin - Rotes Rathaus

The Red Town Hall (= Rotes Rathaus) is the town hall of Berlin.
It was built between 1861 and 1869 in the style of the Northern Italy High Renaissance and was modelled on the Old Town Hall of Thorn/Toruń (Poland). It is said that the architecture of the tower is reminiscent of the cathedral tower of Notre-Dame de Laon. The building consists of four wings on a square floor plan with sides measuring 99 m × 99 m. They enclose three open courtyards.

The building was heavily damaged in WW II and rebuilt to the original plans between 1951 and 1956. The reconstructed Red Town Hall, then located in the Soviet sector, served as the town hall of East Berlin, while the Rathaus Schöneberg was the town hall of West Berlin. After German reunification, the administration of reunified Berlin officially moved into the building on 1 October 1991.