The Old Town Hall in Bamberg is quite a curiosity: The frescoes that adorn the facades are as amazing as the story behind the building's construction.

According to legend the bishop of Bamberg did not grant the citizens any land for the construction of a town hall. This prompted the townsfolk to ram stakes into the river Regnitz to create an artificial island, on which they built the town hall they so badly wanted.

The location marks the old border of rule between the espiscopal city on the hills and the bourgeois island city and is a clear demonstration of the bourgeoisie's thirst for power.

The Old Town Hall's frescoes never fail to impress as they lend the facades a three-dimensional quality achieved with trompe d'oeil architecture. A special detail is a continual source of mirth among tourists: the leg of a cherub protudes out of the wall as a sculpture. Today the Old Town Hall accommodates the prestigious rococo hall and the Ludwig Collection.