Zurich Town Hall

Town Hall (Zurich)
The Zurich town hall was the government and administrative seat of the City of Zurich until 1798. It was built between 1694 and 1698 in a representative, free-standing location in the Limmat in the middle of Zurich's old town. The classic forms of the exterior are taken from the Architectura recreationis (Augsburg 1640) by the Italian-speaking Joseph Furttenbach, and the interior is designed in the high baroque style.
The town hall has been owned by the Canton of Zurich since 1803 and serves as the seat of the Cantonal Council. The city council of Zurich also meets in the town hall. Furthermore, the Church Synod and the Church Council of the Evangelical Reformed Regional Church of the Canton of Zurich as well as the Synod of the Roman Catholic Body of the Canton of Zurich use the town hall as a meeting location.
With the new construction of the Rathausquais in 1835, the river bank was moved closer to the town hall.
Text/Source: Wikipedia
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rathaus_(Z%C3%BCrich)

History / Town Hall (Zurich)
The first “Richthus” stood in the same place around 1252, but in 1397 it had to give way to a larger and probably more representative town hall for the conditions of the time. It was built on an existing vault over the Limmat. A large part of the work was carried out as compulsory labor and all of the city's buses had to be processed on the construction site. A hundred years after completion, the windows that were previously covered with cloth were glazed. With this building, the city of Zurich sent a clearly visible sign of its greater autonomy and increased importance since joining the Swiss Confederation in 1351.
Town hall around 1700; Drawing by Gerold Escher
On November 30, 1693, the Small Council of the City of Zurich decided to build a new building, which was confirmed by the Council of 200 on December 7. The new building should be attractive, but not magnificent, but still good for Zurich's reputation. When planning the new building, a compromise was reached between Zwinglian modesty, the need for representation and thrift. The new building was related to the city's renewed importance. Since the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, Zurich had full sovereignty from the Holy Roman Empire and, as an independent city republic, had a greater need for representation. Because the very expensive third city fortifications were still being built at practically the same time, money was tight. The selection was from a catalog by an Augsburg architect. The foundation stone was laid on October 12, 1694; The master builder was the city architect Hans Heinrich Holzhalb. Since no important builder was involved, the shape of the building is not a "big project", but rather a simple three-story, oblong building made of molasse sandstone from Bäch with a hipped roof decorated with skylights. Among other things, the two council chambers and the “arithmetic room” built in 1533 were taken over.
Text/Source: Wikipedia
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rathaus_(Z%C3%BCrich)

The town hall has largely been preserved in its original condition. It has baroque elements, but in its basic features it corresponds to the style of the Renaissance. Different styles are also mixed inside. Exhibited historical objects and works of art tell of political life in Zurich.