Altes Rathaus
About This Site
The Altes Rathaus went up in 1567–77 as a merchants' warehouse on a wooden predecessor's site, briefly housed Duke Ernst I before Friedenstein was ready, and has stood as Gotha's town hall since the great fire of 1665 — a gilded head on its façade still drops its jaw on the hour.[1]
A warehouse, then a duke's first residence, 1567–1646
Master builders Caspar Mans, Christoph Goetze and Nicolaus Rausch raised the building between 1567 and 1577 on the site of an older wooden structure, built first as a merchants' warehouse on the Hauptmarkt. Between 1640 and 1646 it briefly housed Duke Ernst I himself, while Schloss Friedenstein was still under construction.[1]
Rebuilt as the town hall after the fire, from 1665
A great fire struck Gotha in 1665, and the warehouse was rebuilt under master builder Rudolphi as the town hall — the seat of the city council ever since. A portrait-carved portal, added on the north side around 1850, shows the Ernestine dukes; on the façade a gilded head, said by local tradition to be the knight Wilhelm von Grumbach, executed in 1567, drops its movable jaw every time the clock strikes the hour.[1]
Questions visitors ask
- When was the Altes Rathaus built?
- 1567 to 1577, first as a merchants' warehouse on the site of an older wooden building.[1]
- Since when has it been Gotha's town hall?
- Since a great fire struck the town in 1665, when the warehouse was rebuilt as the town hall — the seat of the city council ever since.[1]
- Did a duke ever live in the Altes Rathaus?
- Yes — Duke Ernst I lived there briefly between 1640 and 1646, while Schloss Friedenstein was still under construction.[1]
- What is the gilded head on the façade?
- Local tradition names it as the knight Wilhelm von Grumbach, executed in 1567; its movable jaw drops every time the town hall clock strikes the hour.[1]
Sources
- Altes Rathaus (Gotha) — Wikipedia, retrieved 30 August 2026
Visit Information
Hauptmarkt 1, 99867 Gotha
In Weimar's history
Around Weimar
43 km West
The town hall on the Hauptmarkt the market square is still built around, standing since before the palace that later dominated the town.