After a fire in 1908, the houses that stood to the south of the Town Hall along Hauptstraße were torn town and replaced by a new construction. The eastern annex of the Town Hall had existed send 1886 and it was further expanded on this side in 1961 to include the tower and bells. It is clear to see why the Main Hall of the Town Hall built in 1890 was quite an attraction in the city that at that time was home to 30,000 people. The historic recreation of this Neo-Renaissance hall with its imposing wooden ceiling and paintings is an excellent example of the representative internal architecture in public buildings of the time. At the same time, it also documents some interesting developments and construction in the city. The rapid rise in administration activities due to the economic upturn of cities after the war in 1870/71 made an extension to the Town Hall an urgent need. The fire was a turning point in the structure of this building, as it completely destroyed the Neo-Renaissance corner building and the Main Hall. The damaged parts where then pulled down and the Town Hall standing today was created following the Neo-Classical style.
Marktplatz is one of the oldest squares in the city and has always served as a market. It is cut off in the north and south by rows of houses, in the east you have the Town Hall and in the west, the square is dominated by the Church of the Holy Ghost. In the middle of the square is the Hercules Fountain, which was built between 1706 and 1709 and reminds of the enormous efforts that had to be undertaken to rebuilt the city after its destruction in the Thirty Years War. Besides the weekly market, this square was also used for public proceedings in past centuries. Since the end of the 1970's, this square is only accessible to pedestrians.
