The Neues Rathaus, the New Town Hall, stands on Rathausplatz in Freiburg's old town, right next to the red Old Town Hall. Its name is misleading: the building is actually the older of the two, a pair of 16th-century houses that served the University of Freiburg for more than 300 years before the city turned them into its town hall in 1901.
Neues Rathaus at a glance
- Where: on the west side of Rathausplatz, linked to the Old Town Hall by a covered bridge over Turmstraße.
- Built: the house Zum Rechen between 1539 and 1545; converted into the town hall between 1896 and 1901.
- What it is today: the seat of Freiburg's mayor and city administration, with open-air theatre in its courtyard in summer.
- Time needed: 10–15 minutes outside, longer if you sit on the square or catch a summer performance.
From lecture halls to the mayor's office
The building began as two neighbouring town houses. The one called Zum Rechen was built between 1539 and 1545 for the physician Joachim Schiller von Herdern. In 1595 the university bought the house next door, Zum Phönix, and joined the two with a grand columned doorway bearing the inscription Academia Friburgensis. Until 1774 this was the university's main building, its Collegium Universitatis. In the early 18th century a great lecture hall, the Auditorium maximum, was created in the south wing; its stucco ceiling is counted among the finest Baroque rooms in Freiburg.
When the Jesuit order was dissolved, the university moved most of its faculties to the former Jesuit college on Bertoldstraße. Only the medical faculty stayed, and in 1779 a round anatomy theatre was built in the north wing, which is why the building was long known as the Old Anatomy. After the doctors left in 1867, the city bought the complex in 1896 and rebuilt it as the New Town Hall, finished in 1901. It needed space, but it also wanted to save the old building from demolition and property speculation. The conversion added larger windows, balconies and bay windows, and changed a great deal inside.
What to look for
- The columned doorway with the inscription Academia Friburgensis, the clearest reminder of the building's university past.
- The bridge over Turmstraße connecting the New and Old Town Halls, so the two work as one building.
- The coats of arms above the figure niches over the balcony, added during the conversion around 1900.
- The bay window with its figure: it was hit so often by passing lorries that it had to be fully replaced in 2012.
- The courtyard, where theatre performances are held on summer evenings.
Which town hall is older?
Freiburg actually has three historic town halls side by side. The Gerichtslaube in the courtyard of the Old Town Hall is the oldest, documented as a council building in 1328 and rebuilt after the bombing of 1944. The Old Town Hall was built from 1557. And the New Town Hall, despite its name, goes back to houses of the 1530s and 1540s. It is called new simply because it was the last to become a town hall.
Tips for your visit
- Stand in the middle of Rathausplatz to see the New and Old Town Halls together, with the bridge between them.
- Come around midday on a weekday, when the town hall carillon plays over the square.
- Mind the Bächle, the narrow water channels in the streets of the old town: it is easy to step into one while looking up at façades.
Nearby
- Old Town Hall: the red Renaissance building next door, with a façade full of coats of arms of the region's rulers and the tourist information inside.
- St Martin's Church: the former Franciscan church on the square, with a peaceful cloister.
- Haus zum Walfisch: a late-Gothic house with a richly decorated oriel window, where Erasmus of Rotterdam lived for two years.
- Freiburg Minster: the Gothic cathedral with its open-work stone spire, a few minutes' walk away on Münsterplatz.
See Freiburg with World City Trail
Our Freiburg scavenger hunt turns the old town into a game you play on your phone. The route links 10 stops and takes around two hours, with about 24 minutes of walking. It includes the Old Town Hall next door, Freiburg Minster and the Schwabentor gate.
If you prefer a different format, Freiburg also has a self-guided walking tour and an outdoor escape game.
Play the Freiburg scavenger hunt →
Take the self-guided walking tour of Freiburg →
Play the outdoor escape game in Freiburg →
Facts checked in October 2026.