The town hall of Sterzing

Above all, silver was mined, but other ores such as zinc and lead were also important. A trade privilege and the favorable location on the Brenner Route made Sterzing the ideal trading center, and many traders and entrepreneurs settled in the city and conducted their business from here. The Fugger family, the wealthy merchants from Augsburg, also came and invested. The mining industry also benefited crafts and transportation, a truly "golden" time had begun. The prosperity was evident in numerous buildings that were now being built: both private buildings, such as magnificent bourgeois houses and mansions, as well as public ones, such as the city tower, the parish church, and also the town hall.

The town hall was naturally the most important representative building of the emerging and self-confident bourgeoisie of the city. In the mid-15th century, it was decided to build a new one, and in 1468 the house was acquired by the mayor and city council. Over the next five years, extensive renovations were carried out according to the plans of Jörg Kölderer, the court architect of Emperor Maximilian I. The interior was designed in the late Gothic style, and the magnificent council chamber was also created. Completely paneled with wood and with an extremely skillfully crafted beamed ceiling, the council chamber is considered one of the most beautiful in all of Tyrol. To this day, the city council meetings are held here. The distinctive bay window facing the street was added a few years later and was completed in 1524. The town hall is also connected to the citizens' hall, a theater hall named after the significant Sterzing Renaissance poet, Vigil Raber.

In the courtyard of the town hall, visitors will also find one of the most significant relics from Roman times, the so-called Mithras stone. This is a document of the Mithraic cult, a cult of the Persian god of light Mithras that was widespread in the Roman Empire in the 1st century AD, especially among soldiers. The relief, found in a cave near Mauls in 1589, depicts the sacrifice of a bull. The stone in the courtyard is, of course, only a copy; the original is located in the Archaeology Museum in Bolzano.

Another relic from Roman times is also located in the courtyard, a milestone from around 200 AD, when Emperor Septimus Severus had the Roman road expanded. This stone was only found in 1979 during renovation work in Schwalbeneggasse.

The council chamber in the town hall can be visited by appointment or as part of guided tours. The Roman finds in the courtyard are accessible from Monday to Friday from 8 am to 6 pm.