Rathaus Wuppertal

The Barmer Rathaus is the town hall for all Wuppertal residents.
The Johannes Rau Platz in front of the town hall is a meeting point and
Festival place for many events that take place here over the course of a year, above all Barmen live, with "whole" Wuppertal then on its feet.

The castle-like building was built between 1908 and 1921. Left and right are the figures Rhenania and Barmenia for the Prussian Rhine Province and the city. The sculptures on the roof symbolize the eight municipal tasks.

The town hall of Barmen, also called the town hall of Barmen, is the seat of the council of the city of Wuppertal and the headquarters of the city administration.

The castle-like monumental building with a columned portico and a wide flight of steps was built from 1913 to 1922 according to plans by the Darmstadt master builder Carl Roth. Roth's original plan was to build an 18-storey high-rise directly behind the dominant central building with the magnificent column front. But the city of Barmen decided not to build the 110 meter high administration tower, not least for reasons of cost.
The outside staircase is flanked by two seated female figures created by the sculptor Richard Guhr: on the left the "Rhenania", which symbolizes Barmen's affiliation to the Prussian Rhine Province, and on the right, the "Barmenia" for the city of Barmen.
The eight larger-than-life sculptures on the roof of the central building, also works by Guhr, are intended to symbolize the tasks of the municipalities: welfare, general administration, civil engineering, administration of justice, health care, building construction, financial administration, school administration.
On the ground floor, near the two stairways, memorial plaques commemorate the victims of the two world wars. Inscription on the left panel: "To the memory of the 16,000 dead in the city of Wuppertal in World War II 1933-1945". The inscription on the right panel (next to the Pater Noster) with the names of the 59 fallen soldiers of the First World War reads: “In honor of the civil servants and employees of the city of Barmen who died in the World War 1914-1918 for the fatherland. They died for us. Dedicated to the local group Barmen, Association of Municipal Officials and Employees in Prussia. "
In the left staircase there has been a bust of Carl Roth since 1987 with the following dedication on the base: “Karl Roth 1875-1932. Architect of the town hall of the city of Barmen. "

Source: wuppertal-barmen.com/rathaus

In 1927 the traffic island on the old market in Barmen was enlarged and redesigned. Three large, four-armed light masts were erected, the elaborate bronze bases of which were designed by the sculptor Paul Wynand from Elberfeld. In the “Third Reich” they also served as flagpoles.The light poles miraculously survived the air raids of World War II unscathed. In 1963 the old market was redesigned again. The trams disappeared from this area and were relocated to the new B7, the large intersection and the new suspension station were created. The line to Hatzfeld was discontinued. The traffic island (the “pudding”) disappeared. The bronze bases of the light masts were used for three new candelabras with a compact structure, which were set up on the Rathausplatz in Barmen (two) and in the Elberfeld pedestrian zone (one). In 1969 the first candelabra was erected at today's Johannes-Rau-Platz, and in 1971 the third was placed there at the end of the renovation of von-der-Heydt-Platz in Elberfeld.Source: denkmal-wuppertal.de/2013/01/die-bronzesockel-der-lichtmasten-am.html

In place of the older town hall, which was demolished in 1913, the town of Barmen built a representative new building according to the plans of the Darmstadt architect Prof. Carl Roth by the early 1920s. The execution was preceded by a competition in which numerous famous architects such as Wilhelm Kreis had participated. Roth had a horseshoe-shaped complex built with a main building and two wing structures, which together enclose the large forecourt of today's Werth.

The original plans envisaged an administrative tower over 100 meters high behind the large portal of the central building, which would have been the first high-rise building in Germany. The four-storey structure with its steep pitched roof is undecorated except for the slightly profiled window frames and a few pilasters. A finely rusticated ground floor opens onto the forecourt with large arcades. The restrained classicism of the building is only interrupted by the opulent portico of the main entrance, whose attic is crowned by larger-than-life sculptures. jb

Object: Barmen town hall
Location: Wegnerstr. 7th
District: Barmen
Architect: Roth, Carl
Client: City of Barmen
Year of construction: 1913 - 1923

Source: architektur-wuppertal.de/cms/front_content.php?idcat=3&idart=137

Seat of the city administration of the city of Wuppertal, which was founded in 1927 from 12 municipalities / cities by means of municipal reform.
Behind it is the market and the Wuppertal brewery - a converted former public bath.

The Climate Protection Coordination Office, which is responsible for the implementation of the climate protection concept, is located in the Wuppertal Barmen town hall.
The town hall was badly hit by the 2021 flood, but most of the damage has been repaired.