town hall
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town hall
The central administrative building of a city or municipality, where the mayor, city council, and administration are based.
Die Trauung findet im historischen Rathaus statt.
The wedding ceremony will take place in the historic town hall.
The word 'Rathaus' (town hall) is made up of 'Rat' (council) and 'Haus' (house). Here, 'Rat' refers to the city council, meaning the assembly that governs a city. So the town hall is literally the 'house of the council.'
Das neue Rathaus wurde direkt am Marktplatz gebaut.
The new town hall was built right on the market square.
To describe movement, you use 'ins Rathaus' (to the town hall, accusative). To describe a location where you are, you say 'im Rathaus' (in the town hall, dative).
Ich muss morgen ins Rathaus, um meinen neuen Pass abzuholen.
I have to go to the town hall tomorrow to pick up my new passport.
Administrative activities are often associated with the town hall. Typical verbs are 'sich anmelden' (to register), 'heiraten' (to get married), 'einen Antrag stellen' (to submit an application), or simply 'ins Rathaus gehen' (to go to the town hall).
Viele Paare heiraten standesamtlich im Rathaus.
Many couples have a civil wedding at the town hall.
Roman / Römer
'das Rathaus' and 'der Römer' can both refer to a town hall, but not in the same scope. 'das Rathaus' is the general word for the administrative building of a city or municipality. 'der Römer', on the other hand, is a proper name: it is the name of the historic town hall in Frankfurt am Main. Learners may confuse the words when they read or hear about Frankfurt. Outside Frankfurt, people normally say 'das Rathaus', not 'der Römer'.
Luisa muss morgen im Rathaus ihren neuen Ausweis abholen.
Luisa has to pick up her new ID at the town hall tomorrow.
Vor dem Römer in Frankfurt machen viele Touristen Fotos.
Many tourists take photos in front of the Römer in Frankfurt.