Stadtmuseum Erlangen

The Altstädter Rathaus in Erlangen is a three-storey sandstone building on the east side of Martin-Luther-Platz in the old town. Completed in 1740, it dominates the square together with the Altstädter Kirche. The façade has five window axes, a mansard roof and Corinthian pilasters at the corners. The middle three axes form a shallow projection called a risalit. Ground-floor windows have wrought-iron grilles while upper windows carry shouldered architraves and, on the first floor, small triangular pediments. A basket-arched doorway with a keystone carved as a female head sits in the centre, flanked by Tuscan columns that support a balcony with balustrade. The building is worth the journey for its fine baroque architecture and its role in local history. The interior still shows the 1739 decorative stucco work by Martin Grasser in the former council rooms. Two large and small halls on the first floor display lattice and ribbon-work stucco with vase and bird motifs. Original door fittings from the building period survive on some doors. The ground floor once housed the town scales in a single spacious hall supported by four sandstone piers. Below the building lie three large cellar vaults. Visitors find the Erlangen City Museum inside. The museum occupies the former council chambers and the adjoining buildings, covering about 1 000 square metres. There is a permanent exhibition on the town’s history and changing special exhibitions. Behind the building stretches a large courtyard whose eastern end is closed by the former Altstadt fire station of 1780.