Anyone coming to Freiburg’s Town Hall Square cannot miss these two buildings: the Old and the New Town Halls. The starting point of this ensemble of buildings were several municipal buildings that were erected on this spot in the 16th century. These were then joined together to form the Old Town Hall. Then, between 1896 and 1901, the former main building of the university next door was rebuilt into the New Town Hall. A carillon can be heard in the building’s own tower every noon. In 1944, the Old Town Hall burned down almost completely. The exterior walls are still remembered today by the staircase gables that rise above the roof. Today, both buildings still house municipal facilities.
