Exterior view

Holl's greatest achievement is undoubtedly the Augsburg Rathaus, a work with all traces of the Gothic eliminated. The nine-storey east front, divided into three vertical ranges, is articulated, save for two cornices, by the fenestration alone. This indicates at a glance the relative importance of the rooms behind: administrative offices and smaller public rooms at the sides, ceremonial halls in the middle, culminating in the Goldene Saal (destroyed 1944; restored 1982-93), which runs through three storeys and the whole depth of the building. The composition is framed by two towers, intended, in Holl's words, 'to achieve a bolder, more heroic appearance'.

View the plans of the ground floor with the three-nave vestibule (above) and the second floor with the Goldene Saal in the middle (below).