In 1520, Albrecht Dürer and W. Pirckheimer established the iconography for the painting of the walls. The end of the Thirty Year's War was celebrated here with a Peace Banquet in 1649. Beneath the great hall are dungeons which testify to the nature of medieval justice and can be visited.

In the years 1616 - 22, the town hall was extended by Jakob Wolff. His plan for a palazzo-like building reflects the influence of the Italian Renaissance. In the facade, the regularity of the window zones contrasts with the three Baroque portals, the central one of which bears the imperial eagle and the city's two coats of arms.

The entire complex was destroyed by bombs in 1945. Reconstruction, 1956 - 62. Replicas of some of the medieval imperial regalia may be seen in the "Ehrenhalle"(ground floor).