The New Town Hall (german: Neues Rathaus) is a city hall in

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

, Germany. It opened on 20 June 1913 after construction lasting 12 years. A magnificent, castle-like building of the era of

Wilhelm II , house = Hohenzollern , father = Frederick III, German Emperor , mother = Victoria, Princess Royal , religion = Lutheranism (Prussian United) , signature = Wilhelm II, German Emperor Signature-.svg Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor ...

eclectic Eclectic may refer to: Music * ''Eclectic'' (Eric Johnson and Mike Stern album), 2014 * ''Eclectic'' (Big Country album), 1996 * Eclectic Method, name of an audio-visual remix act * Eclecticism in music, the conscious use of styles alien to th ...

style at the southern edge of the inner city just outside the historic city centre of Hanover, the building is embedded within the .

History

Costing 10 million

Marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks, trademarks owned by an organisation for the benefit of its members * Marks & Co, the inspiration for the novel ...

, the New Town Hall was erected on 6026 beech piles by architects

Hermann Eggert Georg Peter Hermann Eggert (3 January 1844 – 12 March 1920) was a German architect. He designed important public buildings such as the Frankfurt Main Station and the New Town Hall in Hannover, often in the style of Neo-Renaissance. Career Bo ...

and Gustav Halmhuber. "Ten million Marks, Your Majesty – and all paid for in cash", the City Director, , is claimed to have announced when the New Town Hall was opened in the presence of Emperor

. In honour of Tramm the square in front of the building is named ''Trammplatz''. Upon opening, the New Town Hall replaced the as the main seat of administration, which had moved from the

Old Town Hall Old or OLD may refer to: Places * Old, Baranya, Hungary * Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, ...

into the Wangenheimpalais in 1863. , the New Town Hall is still "the residence of the Mayor and CEO, the head of the municipal administration." Damaged during

bombing raids Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in total war with the goal of defeating the enemy by destroying its morale, its economic ability to produce and transport materiel to the theatres of military operations, or both. It is a systematic ...

on the inner city of Hanover in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the German state of

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

was proclaimed in 1946 in the hall of the New Town Hall. The dome of the New Town Hall, with its observation platform, is high. The dome's lift is unique in the world in that its arched course follows the parabolic shape of the dome. It is often incorrectly described as a sloping lift up the dome and compared with the lifts in the

Eiffel Tower The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower. Locally nicknamed "' ...

, which actually only travel diagonally, without changing their angle of inclination. The lift climbs the shaft at an angle of up to 17° to the gallery of the dome, where the

Harz The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German ...

mountain range can be seen when visibility is good. In the process, the lift moves over . During the trip, the two weight-bearing cables wind up on three double rolls in the wall of the shaft. Cupola Hanover City Hall

The lift was erected in 1913. The lift cage travelled in steam-bent oaken tracks. Because of the weather, the original lift was not usable in the colder half of the year. There is a spiral staircase, which leads from the lift exit to the observation level. In 2005, over 90,000 people visited the tower of the New Town Hall. A new lift was installed in winter of 2007–08. The last trip of the old lift took place with Lord Mayor

Stephan Weil Stephan Weil (born 15 December 1958) is a German politician and the leader of the Social Democratic Party in Lower Saxony. On 20 January 2013, the SPD and the Green party won the 2013 Lower Saxony state election by one seat. On 19 February 2013, ...

on November 4, 2007. On that weekend, 1200 guests took the last opportunity to ride in the old lift. There are four city models of Hanover in the ground floor of the New Town Hall. They vividly portray the development of the city.

Literature

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References

External links

Information of the city of Hanover about the New City Hall
''in German''
Webcam with a view of the New City Hall

3D model in GoogleEarth 4

- Interactive 360° panorama wit

an

{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Hanover City and town halls in Germany 1913 establishments in Germany Government buildings completed in 1913 Tourist attractions in Hanover Government buildings with domes Hermann Eggert buildings

History

Literature

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References

Further reading

External links