Town Hall

From 1230, three gabled houses were constructed in a central location on the marketplace and extended multiple times over the next three centuries. This explains the different architectural styles in various parts of the building. Gothic and Renaissance architecture, in particular, are represented here. The façades facing the market offer a large, impressive wall, bright Renaissance arcades and high spires. Inside, the magnificent Audience Hall which used to house the Upper Court of the Hanseatic League, is particularly striking. The hall door carved by the Lübeck master Tönnies Evers the Elder in 1573 which shows the Salomonic Judgement among other things, dates back to the Renaissance. The inscription above it written in the official language of the time, Low German, reads “Beide part schal ein richter horen und den ordel” which means: “A judge shall listen to both parties and then give his verdict.”