Historical Town Hall, Frankenberg

The town hall of Frankenberg is located between the Obermarkt and the Untermarkt in the historic center of the town. It is considered one of the oldest half-timbered town halls in Germany.

The first Frankenberg town hall was demolished in 1421, but its successor building fell victim to a town fire as early as May 1476. The third town hall building that survives today was erected between 1509 and 1513. It consists of two full floors and a third floor that merges into the roof. On the first floor there is a market hall, where lively trade was conducted until the 19th century. The second floor houses today's administrative offices with the council chamber and a wedding room. There is a connection between the floors through the octagonal stair tower attached to the west side. In total, the town hall has ten towers representing the ten guilds formerly located in Frankenberg.

In 1778, the front part was partially boarded up to make the underlying half-timbering more weatherproof. Following the spirit of the times, the town hall, like many of Frankenberg's town houses, was completely plastered to imitate the solid buildings of large cities. Starting in 1927, the plaster was partially removed again and the damaged wooden beams underneath were renovated until finally, in 1959, the entire framework was exposed. However, after a long dispute with preservationists, the upper part of the town hall was again fitted with shifting plaster.

To mark the 500th anniversary of the building, the Federal Republic of Germany issued a 45-cent special stamp with a circulation of 168.6 million on January 2, 2009. In 2010, the town hall was completely renovated at a cost of €660,000, €150,000 of which came from donations from Frankenberg citizens.