City Hall (“Rathaus”)
The Rathaus was constructed in the Gothic style in the early 1400s, at the time that Aub was made a City. Originally a one-story building above a ground-floor level, a second story was later added and its decorative half-timbering still shines on the side of the addition facing the Etzelstrasse and City Tower above.
As the multi-functional center of the city’s secular community, it was designed to be used for administrative, judicial, legislative, correctional and commercial purposes. The cellar stored quantities of barrels of wine for the inhabitants of the nearby Spital. The ground-floor area provided space for the important meat and bread markets. The official city scale that determined the honesty of the seller was also housed here. The area has since been enclosed and is now the city library. The main floor of the building and its later upward expansion continues to provide offices for the administration of the city government. Before being carved into more modern office space, a large room was the place for city council meetings, judicial hearings as well as a place for indoor celebrations.
One of the most intriguing elements of the Rathaus is the “Pranger” or pillory, a medieval necessity that so ingeniously and devilishly combined the pain of penal law with the fun of public entertainment. From the front of the Rathaus, move around the right side of the building to the foot of Etzelstrasse. (Care should be taken not to be run over mid-street.) Below the upper story half-timber, one can see a variety of other interesting architectural embellishments. Those convicted of certain offenses could be sentenced to a period of time during which they would be affixed by either the neck or hand shackles and left on the stone ledge. The obvious discomfort would be compounded by the embarrassment of being so prominently displayed for friends and neighbors to see and by the opportunity of giving said friends and neighbors the opportunity to pelt the prisoner with debris. A small prison accessed by the street-level doors provided another opportunity for embarrassment and ridicule. Drunks and others would be locked up in this small cell; passersby could stop by for a peek at the latest inhabitant.
More serious punishment was handled elsewhere. Those convicted of a capital offense could also be housed in the prison cell here. However, at the appointed time, the prisoner would be escorted with a proper procession eastward from the city toward the Galgenberg or “Gallows Hill” where the sentence would be carried out.
Enjoy the charm of the Marktplatz as you make your way to the opposite end, toward the tall tower and steeple. As you approach the rear of the church, note the outline of the original foundations marked in stone on the cobblestones at the rear of the church toward the Marktplatz. The area of the boxwood garden used to be the old church cemetery, the burial place of the local aristocrats, until a cemetery was established outside the city in the nineteenth century. Walk along the side of the church, turn to the right and enter the church.
...next stop
Church of the Assumption (“Mariahimmelfahrt”) Catholic Church
The Rathaus was constructed in the Gothic style in the early 1400s, at the time that Aub was made a City. Originally a one-story building above a ground-floor level, a second story was later added and its decorative half-timbering still shines on the side of the addition facing the Etzelstrasse and City Tower above.
As the multi-functional center of the city’s secular community, it was designed to be used for administrative, judicial, legislative, correctional and commercial purposes. The cellar stored quantities of barrels of wine for the inhabitants of the nearby Spital. The ground-floor area provided space for the important meat and bread markets. The official city scale that determined the honesty of the seller was also housed here. The area has since been enclosed and is now the city library. The main floor of the building and its later upward expansion continues to provide offices for the administration of the city government. Before being carved into more modern office space, a large room was the place for city council meetings, judicial hearings as well as a place for indoor celebrations.
One of the most intriguing elements of the Rathaus is the “Pranger” or pillory, a medieval necessity that so ingeniously and devilishly combined the pain of penal law with the fun of public entertainment. From the front of the Rathaus, move around the right side of the building to the foot of Etzelstrasse. (Care should be taken not to be run over mid-street.) Below the upper story half-timber, one can see a variety of other interesting architectural embellishments. Those convicted of certain offenses could be sentenced to a period of time during which they would be affixed by either the neck or hand shackles and left on the stone ledge. The obvious discomfort would be compounded by the embarrassment of being so prominently displayed for friends and neighbors to see and by the opportunity of giving said friends and neighbors the opportunity to pelt the prisoner with debris. A small prison accessed by the street-level doors provided another opportunity for embarrassment and ridicule. Drunks and others would be locked up in this small cell; passersby could stop by for a peek at the latest inhabitant.
More serious punishment was handled elsewhere. Those convicted of a capital offense could also be housed in the prison cell here. However, at the appointed time, the prisoner would be escorted with a proper procession eastward from the city toward the Galgenberg or “Gallows Hill” where the sentence would be carried out.
Enjoy the charm of the Marktplatz as you make your way to the opposite end, toward the tall tower and steeple. As you approach the rear of the church, note the outline of the original foundations marked in stone on the cobblestones at the rear of the church toward the Marktplatz. The area of the boxwood garden used to be the old church cemetery, the burial place of the local aristocrats, until a cemetery was established outside the city in the nineteenth century. Walk along the side of the church, turn to the right and enter the church.
...next stop
Church of the Assumption (“Mariahimmelfahrt”) Catholic Church