The present town hall is probably the sixth town hall in town history. The first two were probably located in the Neustadt am Hopfenmarkt and in the Erzbischöfliche Altstadt at the Alter Fischmarkt. After the unification of both cities in 1216, a joint town hall was built on the small Johannisstraße, Dornbusch corner. A fire in 1284 destroyed all the houses and probably also the town hall. Only the basement vault was preserved and served as council wine cellar and wine warehouse. The building erected on it later received the name Eimbeck's house, as it was the only one to have a bar for Einbecker beer. The council wine cellar collapsed in 1842 at the Great fire in half. A salvaged Bacchus figure is still standing today in the town hall at the staircase to the Council wine cellar of the entrance Große Johannisstraße.
Around 1290, a larger town hall was built on the river Neß on the Trostbrücke. The brick building, which was built on a surface of 26 meters by 17 meters with a two-storey hall, was gradually extended. The lower court was added and at the beginning of the 17th century a Renaissance cultivation. In 1619 the Hamburg bank moved in. This building ensemble in the neighborhood of the old Hamburg stock exchange formed the political and economic center of Hamburg for several centuries.