Hall of Pillars

Hall of Pillars, Red Town Hall

The Hall of Pillars is considered to be the Red Town Hall’s most beautiful room. The Governing Mayor receives guests here such as foreign ambassadors or members of the Berlin Film Festival jury. If a Berlin sports team wins a national championship or achieves a similar success, the Governing Mayor invites the athletes to the Hall of Pillars to sign Berlin’s official guest book. When recipients of Berlin’s Honorary Citizen award celebrate milestone birthdays, the Governing Mayor hosts a banquet in the Hall of Pillars to mark the occasion. It’s possible to get married here, too. The registry office for Mitte offers regular wedding appointments in the Hall of Pillars.

Ceiling of the Hall of Pillars in the Red Town Hall

The design of the Hall of Pillars is based on an Italian palace, the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena. The room owes its name – and much of its charm – to the three rows of pillars and columns that stretch nine meters high to support the pink cross-vault ceiling.

The room was originally built as the library for city government officials. After it was destroyed in the Second World War, it was given a new purpose and redesigned as the current Hall of Pillars when the Red Town Hall was rebuilt. In the years when Berlin was divided, the East German government conferred its awards and honors in the Hall of Pillars.