Name of Monument:

The Town Hall of Augsburg

Also known as:

Augsburg Town Hall

Location:

Augsburg, Bavarian Swabia, Germany

Date:

1615–19 shell construction;
1619–26 interior decoration

Artists:

Architecture: Elias Holl (1573–1646);
Golden Hall: concept, wall frescos, ceiling paintings: Johann Matthias Kager (1575–1634);
Sculptures of the main entrances : Caspar Menneler;
Imperial busts of the lateral doorways: Christoph Angermeier (c. 1580–1633);
Artistic carpentry: Wolfgang Ebner (1577–1628)

Denomination / Type of monument:

Secular architecture (public building)

Patron(s):

Mayors Hieronymus Imhof and Hans Jakob Rembold

History:

In 1614, the dilapidated medieval town hall’s prestigious new construction was under consideration. The laying of the first stone was carried out by municipal architect Elias Holl on 25 August 1615. Due to a change of plans, two towers were added in 1618. Unfinished, the building was already in use in 1620, and the interior decoration was finalised six years later. In 1944, an air raid destroyed the building almost entirely, leaving only its external walls. After an initial simplified rebuilding, the showpiece of the town hall, the Golden Hall, and two of the original four Fürstenzimmer (literally “princely rooms”, similar to state rooms; spaces which served to receive German “Fürst”, or leaders of a feudal state) were reconstructed during a renovation between 1980 and 1984.

Description:

A special feature of the Augsburg Town Hall is the double-tower façade, an element that previously had been exclusively incorporated in churches. Other meaningful front decorations include the columned portal and the scrolled gable, which is equipped with two icons that signify the city’s imperial immediacy: the Roman cembra nut of the municipal coat-of-arms resting above and the double eagle of the Emperor's coat-of-arms in the centre.
The spatial layout follows the models of Venetian palaces and is defined by the threefold division of the façade: The representative halls form the centre, beside them are administration and Fürstenzimmer spaces, in which the onion dome crowned towers surmount the staircases. Due to its hillside location, the building features seven single storeys facing forward and nine storeys in the rear.
The middle section houses three halls that are staggered vertically according to their meaning: The ground floor is occupied by a vestibule, the so-called “Unterer Fletz”, a hall with marble pillars and a vaulted ceiling. Located in the first main storey is a secondary vestibule, also known as the “Oberer Fletz”, a once low coffered ceilinged hall with columns, whose adjacent rooms contained offices and assembly halls for the council body. Finally, on the second main storey is located the Golden Hall, the highlight of the building's interior design. This ceremonial hall features six portals, wall frescos, splendid coffered ceilings, and extends one row of windows and two clerestories high. Around the corners of the hall are four adjoined Fürstenzimmer.
The allegoric iconography covering the walls and ceiling portray the Golden Hall’s concept as a conference site for the Diets of Augsburg, though such meetings never actually took place there. The ceiling centrepiece appellatively shows the triumphal procession of Sapientia (Wisdom); Latin inscriptions proclaim her motto: “By me rulers reign”. The centrepiece is flanked by two circular scenic tondos and eight oval-shaped paintings featuring female personifications. One of the circular paintings shows the Town Hall under construction and the architect holding the layout plan, to which the banner correspondingly says: “Cities are founded”. The required basic principles for the statement: education, productivity, diligence and piety are invoked by the four surrounding oval paintings. The other circular painting depicts Augsburg’s strength for defence, a banner says: “Foes will be fended off”. This, too, is surrounded by oval paintings, that allegorically visualise medicine, justice and prosperity. Wall frescos depict ancient Roman and German emperors.

With development beginning in 1615, the double-towered town hall of the former free imperial city of Augsburg was a constructional pioneering achievement, because at that time it supposedly was the only building in the world with more than six storeys. Its form follows the models of Venetian palaces and the exquisite shapes of Italian Renaissance architecture. Expression of the municipal identity are the Roman cembra nut and the imperial double eagle residing exteriorly, as well as the magnificent Golden Hall with its splendid coffered ceiling interiorly. They symbolise the pride of the long history and immediacy of the city.

How Monument was dated:

Archival documents and chronicle sources; portal inscription “MDCXX”

Selected bibliography:

Jachmann, Julian, Die Kunst des Augsburger Rates 1588–1631: Kommunale Räume als Medium von Herrschaft und Erinnerung, Munich/Berlin: Deutscher Kunstverlag, 2008: 90–101, 106–110, 113, 118, 123–134, 136, 148–150, 156–168, 193–197.
Roeck, Bernd, Elias Holl. Ein Architekt der Renaissance, Regensburg: Friedrich Pustet, 2004: 39–84, 102–108.
Kießling, Hermann, Der Goldene Saal und die Fürstenzimmer im Augsburger Rathaus: Eine Dokumentation der Wiederherstellung, Munich/Berlin: Deutscher Kunstverlag, 1997.
Baer, Wolfram, et al. (eds), Elias Holl und das Augsburger Rathaus: Eine Ausstellung der Stadt Augsburg, Stadtarchiv, Regensburg: Friedrich Pustet, 1985: 73–97, 161–202, 207, 211–254.
Roeck, B., Elias Holl: Architekt in einer europäischen Stadt, Regensburg: Friedrich Pustet, 1985: 186–221.

Citation of this web page:

Peter Heinrich Jahn, Eva Winter "The Town Hall of Augsburg" in "Discover Baroque Art", Museum With No Frontiers, 2025.
https://baroqueart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;BAR;de;Mon12;25;en

Prepared by: Peter Heinrich Jahn, Eva Winter
Translation by: Thea Norris
Translation copyedited by: Janice MedinaJanice Medina

Janice Medina is an artist and educator based in Upstate New York. She studied interior design at Syracuse University and obtained her M.S. in Building Conservation in 2008 (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) and Master of Fine Arts in 2019 (University at Albany).

Janice is a former participant in the US/ICOMOS International Exchange Program and she has taught courses in the history of design and historic preservation. Her artwork is influenced by her experiences in historic preservation, as well as by building materials and the natural environment.

Janice has participated as a copy-editor with Museum With No Frontiers since 2019. In this role she has had the opportunity to work on a variety of projects including Discover Islamic Art, Discover Baroque Art and Discover Glass Art.

MWNF Working Number: DE3 25