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.
city administration
Das Rathaus directly refers to the central administrative building. Die Stadtverwaltung primarily refers to the institution, including its offices and employees, but it can also refer to the building they work in. Rathaus is more unambiguous for the place; Stadtverwaltung is a better fit for an administrative action.
Den Antrag gebe ich im Rathaus am Marktplatz ab.
I’m submitting the application at the town hall on the market square.
Die Stadtverwaltung bearbeitet meinen Antrag innerhalb einer Woche.
The city administration will process my application within a week.
