Altes Stadthaus
Altes Stadthaus stands in Berlin as a former administrative building designed by Ludwig Hoffmann and built between 1902 and 1911. Five courtyards shape the monumental complex, while an approximately 80-metre tower rises above grey Muschelkalk façades, Tuscan columns and pilasters. Its purpose was to supplement the Rotes Rathaus as Berlin’s administration expanded with the city’s rapid population growth.
Palladian architecture, especially the Palazzo Thiene in Vicenza, influenced the design. The tower combines two cylindrical tiers with encircling columns, a dome and a copper Fortuna sculpture, while other figures represent civic virtues and Greek deities. Inside, the Jugendstil Bärensaal contains Georg Wrba’s bronze bear, a symbol of Berlin. Originally called Neues Stadthaus, the building took its present name after the Second World War, when it was distinguished from the neighbouring administrative centre of East Berlin.
War damage destroyed the roof and several sculptures, but restoration in the 1990s replaced many lost sculptural elements. The building’s most distinctive detail remains the copper Fortuna above its high tower.
- City
- Berlin
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Image: Christian Liebscher (Platte)CC BY-SA 3.0 
Image: Ludwig HoffmannPublic domain 
Image: Ludwig HoffmannPublic domain 
Image: No machine-readable author provided. Elya assumed (based on copyright claims).CC BY-SA 3.0 
Image: No machine-readable author provided. Elya assumed (based on copyright claims).CC BY-SA 3.0
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