Historic Town Hall Horstmar

here the special construction and the blue / white shutters are very striking

With Friedrich von Rietberg and Horstmar - he had married the Horstmar heiress Beatrix - the time as an independent county was lost, but at the same time the importance of the city began. In the knight's battle near Zülpich in 1267, he was captured by the Prince-Bishop of Münster, Gerhard, and was only able to raise the ransom by "selling" the Horstmar property to Prince-Bishop Gerhard in 1269. Prince-Bishop Gerhard expanded the small settlement below the castle, - the current layout of the old town comes from this time - fortified it with ramparts and moats and appointed Burgmannen, whom he commissioned to organize the defense. He gave the fortified settlement extensive rights (city rights), including its own jurisdiction and market rights. The administration was in the hands of a magistrate made up of 8 councilors and 8 quarter people, who were elected by the entire citizenry. It was particularly important for the citizens that they could not be called before any other court, but that both churches and secular law were spoken in Horstmar.
(Source: horstmarerleben.de/index.php/tourismus/sehenswuerdheiten/weiter-historische-gebaeude/altes-rathaus.html)

Information about the historic town hall can be found here:
horstmar.de/stadt_horstmar/Touristik%20&%20Freizeit/Sights/Sights/Historic%20Rathaus