Rotes Rathaus

The Rotes Rathaus (Red City Hall) is one of the beautiful buildings of Berlin that are part of the central postcard of the city. The City Hall is located in the vicinity of Alexanderplatz, where important attractions such as the Fernsehturm (Television Tower), Nikolaiviertel, World Clock and many more are to be found.

The building was built between the years of 1861 and 1869, designed in the high style of the Italian renaissance by the architect Hermann Friedrich Waesemann. The Red City Hall has a tower with 74m high and the building occupies an area of 99 x 88m, so it is named after the red bricks that adorn it.

The building was bombed during World War II and rebuilt between 1951 and 1956, serving with seat of the East Berlin prefecture. The Rathaus Schöneberg became the seat of the West Berlin city hall, famous for being the place where President John Kennedy said the legendary phrase: “Ich bin ein Berliner!” (I am a Berliner).

After the German Reunification, the Rotes Rathaus was again the site of the general administration of Berlin in 1991. At the top of its tower is the city’s flag, thus representing a region finally unified and without the shadows brought by the walls Who were here.

A few meters ahead of the town hall is the fountain of Neptune, with the God of the Seas in the center surrounded by four women, representing the four main rivers of the ancient Kingdom of Prussia: Rhine, Elbe, Vistula and Oder. This fountain, inaugurated in 1891, was positioned in the square of the Berlin Palace and was moved to Alexanderplatz in 1969.