The historic city hall was built in 1479 on the remnants of gothic town gates. Its history is closely connected to the history of the town.
In 1444 the small market village Oberursel received town status. Trade was developing rapidly and the number of residents of the young town was increasing. In 1481 a town wall was added to a new part of town - „Tal“ (the valley).
After being used for military purposes the location of the „Untertor“ (lower gate) of the first town wall was used for the construction of city hall. The building served as a landmark between the old and the new town, and it became a visible sign of a new self confidence of the free citizens. Also, the building was centrally located at the new market square. During the Thirty Years´ War city hall burned down in 1622 for the first time. In 1629 plans for a new building emerged, but they were not fulfilled during the war. In 1645, instead of reconstructing the building, the makeshift city hall and other parts of town were again set on fire to burn down.
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In 1658 the construction of a new city hall was taken up again, but this time the plans called for smaller dimensions as previously in 1629. By 1663 all inner works were finished. In the basement of the building underneath the steps, a prison cell called „Betzelkammer“ was set up, providing room for up to 20 prisoners.
In 1702 the building of city hall was decorated with the sundial, during the reconstruction in the years 1933/34 an inscription on the wall was added.
Above the passage way of city hall is the city arms in a baroque replication - dating back to the 15th /18th century.
On September 27th 1980, the renovated conference hall reopened. From that time on the councilmen hall with the beautifully decorated wall tiles is used for special civic occasions and weddings.
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Historic City Hall
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A View through the Arc
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Touring historic city hall can be arranged.
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