Wernigerode Town Hall

It is located on the south side of the city's market square at the address Marktplatz 1. At the town hall, Marktstraße begins in a southerly direction.
The town hall was built around 1420 by Count Heinrich as a count's playhouse on the wine cellar. An inscription in the coat of arms above the main portal refers to this. The building was then donated to the city of Wernigerode by Count Heinrich in 1427. The city also used it as a playhouse. Carnival games took place here, and it also served as a place of trade and court. In the years 1494 to 1498, the striking half-timbered building, which faces the market square and is still preserved today, was built with two slender bay windows flanking the entrance. The bay windows, which rest on free-standing stands, each tower over the eaves of the house with a slate storey, have small gables and end in very slender pointed roofs like towers. The half-timbering of the upper floor cantilevers about 50 centimetres above the massive basement. It is made of mighty beams. In contrast to the emphasis on the vertical by the towers, there is a horizontal structure by a dense row of curved St. Andrew's crosses. They are bordered at the top by a strong breast bar. The figures on the cleats of the building are also remarkable. The knobs on the ground floor show saints, those below the roof minstrels, jesters, drinkers and Morris dancers with the May Queen. The beam heads are also carved. The building was completed according to an inscription on the threshold by the master carpenter Thomas Hilleborch. Inside, a hall was created, which was used as a banquet hall for the citizens. The half-timbered façade was designed in the Lower Saxon style, although there are also features of the Franconian-Hessian design form.

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