Old town hall was constructed in 1392-1394, and underwent may alterations over the next 5 centuries; in 1470-1480 it was re-designed in the late-Gothic style, and then the grand hall was decorated by the Morris dancers sometime between the 13th and 17th century, and finally, the façade was restored in the neo-Gothic style in 1861-1864. The tunnels were added in 1877, to accommodate for the increase in traffic, and again in 1934-1935 to separate pedestrians from vehicles. Much of the building was destroyed in WW II, and the spire was reconstructed in 1971-1974.
The Grand Hall hosted the speech by Joseph Goebbels on Nov 9, 1938, the prelude to the Kristallnacht. Literally meaning ‘crystal night’ and being referred to ‘Night of the Broken Glass’, Kristallnacht was the violent riot carried out by the Nazi Party’s paramilitary and SS forces. Over 7,000 Jewish homes, hospitals and schools were ransacked and demolished. The name comes from the shards of broken glass that littered the streets.