Rathaus
Encyclopedia
Rathaus (ˈʁaːthaʊs) is a German
word literally translating as “council house”, meaning “city hall” or “town hall”. Many specific buildings are referred to as Rathaus even when spoken about in English.
Some important Rathäuser are:
word for city hall
. It also serves as metonymy
for burmistrz (mayor), derived from the German Bürgermeister. In Ukraine, particularly in the western part of the country, and in Belarus
, ratusha is usually the name of the city hall. Several cities in Estonia
, particularly those whose histories trace to the Hanseatic
era, call their city councils raad and their houses raekoda. Some town houses in Finland
are also called raatihuone.
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
word literally translating as “council house”, meaning “city hall” or “town hall”. Many specific buildings are referred to as Rathaus even when spoken about in English.
Some important Rathäuser are:
- Rathaus SchönebergRathaus SchönebergRathaus Schöneberg is the city hall for the Borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg in Berlin.-History:It was constructed between 1911–1914 for Schöneberg, at that time an independent city not yet incorporated into Berlin, which took place in 1920....
(BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
) - Rotes RathausRotes RathausThe Red City Hall is the town hall of Berlin, located in the Mitte district on Rathausstraße near Alexanderplatz. It is the home to the governing mayor and the government of the Federal state of Berlin...
(Berlin) - Römer (Frankfurt am Main)Römer (Frankfurt am Main)The Römer is a medieval building in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, one of the city's most important landmarks. It has been the city hall or Rathaus for 600 years. The Römer merchant family sold it together with a second building, the Goldener Schwan , to the city council on March 11, 1405 and it was...
(FrankfurtFrankfurtFrankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
) - Rathaus (Hamburg)
- Neues Rathaus (Hannover)
- Rathaus (Köln)
- Altes RathausOld Town Hall, MunichThe Old Town Hall , until 1874 the domicile of the municipality, serves today as a building for the city council in Munich. The Old Town Hall bounds the central square Marienplatz on its east side.-Architecture:...
(MunichMunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
) - Neues RathausNew Town Hall, MunichThe New Town Hall is a town hall at the northern part of Marienplatz in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It hosts the city government including the city council, offices of the mayors and part of the administration...
(MunichMunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
) - Rathaus, Vienna
Derivatives
Ratusz is the PolishPolish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
word for city hall
City hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall or a municipal building or civic centre, is the chief administrative building of a city...
. It also serves as metonymy
Metonymy
Metonymy is a figure of speech used in rhetoric in which a thing or concept is not called by its own name, but by the name of something intimately associated with that thing or concept...
for burmistrz (mayor), derived from the German Bürgermeister. In Ukraine, particularly in the western part of the country, and in Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, ratusha is usually the name of the city hall. Several cities in Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, particularly those whose histories trace to the Hanseatic
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...
era, call their city councils raad and their houses raekoda. Some town houses in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
are also called raatihuone.
- Ratusz (Warsaw Metro)Ratusz (Warsaw Metro)Metro Ratusz Arsenał is a Warsaw Metro station located under the Bankowy Square in the borough of Śródmieście. It was opened in 2001. It takes its name from the Warsaw City Hall located in the square. It is the closest station for the Warsaw Old Town and the Royal Castle.Before 29 December 2006...
- Poznań City HallPoznan City HallPoznań Town Hall or Ratusz is a building in the city of Poznań in western Poland, located in the Old Market Square in the centre of the Old Town neighbourhood. It served as the city's administrative building until 1939, and now houses a museum...