Rotes Rathaus (Red Town Hall)

Those vivid red bricks you're standing in front of aren't just an architectural choice. They gave this building its name. Rotes Rathaus simply means "Red Town Hall," and the color comes from the distinctive clinker bricks used when construction finished in 1869. The architect Hermann Friedrich Waesemann drew inspiration from the grand buildings of Northern Italy, which gives the whole structure a surprisingly Mediterranean elegance for a city this far north.

Berlin's history runs deep into these walls. The building took serious damage during World War II, when much of the city was reduced to rubble. It was painstakingly rebuilt by 1956, but by then Berlin itself was split in two. East and West Berlin each had their own separate governments, and this building served only the eastern half. West Berlin ran its affairs from a different city hall entirely, a quiet architectural symbol of a city torn apart.

When Germany reunified in 1991, the Rotes Rathaus reclaimed its role as the city hall for all of Berlin. Today, the governing mayor works inside.

Before you move on, take a moment to study the sandstone reliefs wrapping around the facade. They tell Berlin's entire story in stone, from medieval market town to industrial powerhouse, carved right into the walls for anyone patient enough to read them.