Altes Rathaus

On the Schlossplatz in Saarbrücken, opposite the castle, stands the Altes Rathaus, a Baroque building set to complete a single urban ensemble. Friedrich Joachim Stengel gave it a central risalit, a mansard roof and a crowning clock tower. Inside, the Volkshochschule Regionalverband Saarbrücken runs its varied educational programmes.

Graf Johann Ludwig commissioned the first building here in 1498, and damage brought repeated rebuilds over the centuries. The Baroque form you see went up between 1748 and 1750, built by Karl Abraham Dodel to Stengel's plans. Two residential houses made up the southern wing at first, and they had joined the main structure by the late eighteenth century. The town hall served until 1909, when the merger with St. Johann moved the administration to the larger Rathaus St. Johann. The Second World War destroyed it, and reconstruction began in 1947.

The design travelled beyond Saarbrücken: the Altes Rathaus in Pirmasens rose from the same plans. Back home, a Saarland postage stamp carried the building's portrait in 1954. The adjacent annex, which housed a patriotic painting cycle by Anton von Werner, fell in the same war. The paintings themselves survived and wait for a future public display.