Altes Rathaus

The building was erected in 1378 as a trading house of the Electorate of Mainz, to which Miltenberg long belonged. From 1814 to 1949 the town used it as its town hall, which is the source of the name still in use today. The large hall on the upper floor, the "Bürgersaal", served as the meeting place for the town's citizens.

The ashlar sandstone building shows pointed-arch portals on the ground floor and tall cross-mullioned windows lighting the Bürgersaal above. A corbel frieze with remnants of figure-decorated corner oriels points to the original Gothic detailing. The mansard hip roof with tympanum and roof turret was added only in the 18th century, placing a later crown on the medieval structure.

The Altes Rathaus belongs to the listed "Altstadt Miltenberg" ensemble, which takes in the Mildenburg castle, the core town with its medieval extensions and the eastern suburb up to the Würzburger Tor. It is defined by numerous surviving half-timbered houses from four centuries, with carved beamwork, lime-white infill panels and slate-covered roofs.

The old town arranges itself around a small marketplace which, owing to the tight topography, also draws in the rising space of the "Schnatterloch". Half-timbered buildings, the castle above and the market fountain together form a widely admired townscape.