Architecture story · Leipzig, Deutschland
The Old Town Hall of Leipzig
One of the longest Renaissance facades in Germany — and one of the most demanding models we have ever built by hand.
Leipzig's Old Town Hall has stood on the Markt since the sixteenth century. Its facade is a long arcade, a row of gables above it, and a clock tower deliberately set off centre.
That rhythm is the whole job. Every gable must be the same shape without being identical; every arch the same width, yet cut by hand.
The model is built from separate slabs: the front facade, the side walls, the roof and the tower. The walls are carved while the clay is still soft, then assembled, dried and fired.
After the first firing the facade is painted with engobes — brick red, pale render, the green of the tower roof. A second firing locks the colour in.
