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The design of the richly adorned facade is modelled on the Gothic architecture of Flemish and Brabant secular buildings like Brussels' Town Hall. It features five towers including the central tower with a height of 98m (322ft). On 21 October 1882, the Rathausmann statue was installed on the top, which soon became one of the symbols of Vienna. The structure itself, spread over an area of 19,592m2 (210,890sqft), is arranged around seven inner-courtyards, more along Baroque lines. A total space of about 113,000m2 (1,220,000sqft) is spread over three floors and two basements with 2,987 rooms. It is largely built with bricks decorated with limestone, mainly from the Leitha Mountains, and ashlar masonry.
The City Hall also accommodates the historic 'Wiener Rathauskeller' restaurant. The traditional restaurant consists of several baroque halls, offering small traditional Viennese delicacies to grand gala buffets.
Atop the steeple of the 98-meter high tower, stands the 3.4-meter tall Rathausmann; an iron standard bearer. It was designed by Alexander Nehr, and donated by master locksmith and factory owner Ludwig Wilhelm.
The statue was attached to the spire on 21 October 1932.[1]
First floor
The ballroom can be found on the first floor at the front of the hall, with views of the ring road, Burgtheater, and inner city. The first floor ballroom is 71m (233ft) long and spans a width of 20m (66ft).[2] The ballroom runs adjacent to the banqueting hall, also adjoining with the north buffet and armorial hall.
The Municipal Council Meeting Room and Municipal Senate Meeting Room are both also part of the first floor.
Ground floor
There are numerous entry points into the Vienna City Hall via the ground floor. There are entrances to the north, south, and west.
The Volkshalle, or "People's Hall", is located on the ground floor, right below the first floor ballroom. The Volkshalle is used nowadays to host events.[3]
Additionally, since 1927, the town hall guard, a special unit of the Viennese professional fire brigade, has resided in the ground floor of the town hall for security. Their duties include standard fire response duties and disaster control.
First basement
The first basement, also called the Vienna City Hall cellar, was first opened on 12 February 1899. The artistic design was overseen by Josef Urban, and the historical murals by Heinrich Lefler. The first basement contains numerous rooms including the Knights' Hall, the Green Hall, and the Grinzinger Keller.
There were extensive renovations performed in 1925,[4] 1952,[5] and 2005, where historical murals and woodwork were fully refurbished.
Renovation work
On September 27, 2012, renovation work [6] started on what is expected to be a 35 million euro project to renovate the building by the year 2023 when the work – expected to take place in 11 stages and affecting 40,000 m2 – will be complete. Recently finished renovations (2000) include the grand re-opening of the neo-Baroque Salon Ziehrer and the redesigned Lanner-Lehar Hall with wall and ceiling murals by German Trompe-l'œil artist Rainer Maria Latzke.[7]
Gallery
City hall at night
Detail of the facade at the base of the main tower
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Vienna_City_Hall, and is written by contributors.
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