Seat of Local Government - History

History

Large halls called basilicas were used in Ancient Rome for the administration of justice, as meeting places, and for trade.

In the Early Medieval period, the hall, a single large open chamber, was the main, and sometimes only room of the home of a feudal lord. There the lord lived with his family and retinue, ate, slept and administered rule and justice. Activities in the hall played an essential role in the functioning of the feudal manor, the administrative unit of society. As manorial dwellings developed into manor houses, castles and palaces, the hall, or "great hall" as it was often termed, remained an essential unit within the architectural complex.

In the later middle ages or early modern period, many European market towns erected communal market halls, comprising a covered open space to function as a sheltered marketplace at street level, and one or more rooms used for public or civic purposes on the upper floor or floors. Such buildings were frequently the precursors of dedicated town halls.

The modern concept of the town hall developed with the development of local or regional government. Cities administered by a group of elected or chosen representatives, rather than by a lord or princely ruler, required a place for their council to meet. The Cologne City Hall of 1135 is a prominent example for self-gained municipal autonomy of Medieval cities. The Palazzo Pubblico of the Republic of Siena and the Palazzo Vecchio of the Republic of Florence, both town halls, date from 1297 and 1299 respectively. In each case the large, fortified building comprises a large meeting hall and numerous administrative chambers. Both buildings are topped by very tall towers. Both buildings have ancient timepieces by which the people of the town can regulate their lives. Both buildings have facilities for the storage of documents and references that pertain to the city's administration. These features: a hall, a tower and a clock, as well as administrative chambers and an archive or muniment room became the standard features of town halls across Europe. Brussels Town Hall of the 15th century, with its 96-metre (315 ft) tower, is one of the grandest examples of the medieval era, serving as a model for 19th-century town halls such as the Rathaus, Vienna.

During the 19th century town hall buildings often included "reading rooms" to provide free education to the public, and it eventually became customary for the town or city council to establish and maintain a library as part of its service to the community. The grand chamber or meeting place, the "town hall" itself, became a place for receptions, banquets, balls and public entertainment. Town halls, particularly during the 19th century, were often equipped with large pipe organs to facilitate public recitals.

In the 20th century town halls, as venues, have served the public as places for voting, examinations, vaccinations, relief in times of disaster and the posting lists of war casualties, as well as for the more usual civil functions, festivities and entertainments. Local councils have tended increasingly to remove administrative functions into modern offices. Where new premises are designed and constructed to house local governments, the concepts and functions of administrative council offices and of a civic town hall become separated.