3 - Kipfenberg's townhall

The Former Treasury Office of the Prince-Bishops

Kipfenberg's Town Hall is characteristic of the buildings in our historic town center. Broad and imposing, the building stands at the southwest corner of the market square. Above the main entrance, you see a stone coat of arms of the Eichstätt Prince-Bishop, Martin von Schaumberg, who had the building constructed as a treasury office in the 16th century. From 1592 onward, it also served as Kipfenberg’s courthouse. The roof was much higher back then, when its massive attics stored grain which farmers had to pay to the sovereign.

During Bavarian times

With the secularization of Bavaria, which began in 1802, the reign of the Eichstätt Prince-Bishops came to an end, and this building became the property of the Bavarian state. From 1804 onward, it housed the regional court, and later, from 1879 to 1910, the Royal Bavarian District Court. On the southwest facade, you can see a cartouche from 1885. It bears the inscription "Suum cuique," which translates "To each his own". A more apt translation, considering that this was a courthouse, would probably be something like: "The rights of each are guaranteed."  Since 1806, the Kipfenberg gendarmerie, or police station, had also been located in the courthouse. But on April 25, 1945, the building had to be completely vacated and made available to the American occupation forces. Just one year later, the gendarmes returned to their post and remained there until it was abolished in 1964 as part of a police reform. The town of Kipfenberg purchased the building from the Bavarian state, and after a thorough renovation, it became Kipfenberg’s town hall, which it still is today.

Current Renovation

The historic treasury office of the long-gone prince-bishops is currently being renovated. The aim is to achieve a future-proof standard in energy efficiency and technology and to meet the needs of a modern municipal administration. The original building structure is being preserved and renovated, thus allowing its more than 400-year-old history as an official and administrative building to be continued while meeting modern standards.

Text: Werner Kränzlein, March 10, 2025

Translation: Eric Geiger; August 2025

Speaker: Eric Geiger

Production: Landvilla-Audio Kipfenberg

With the kind support of Dr. Elmar Ettle

Ettle, Elmar: „Gemeindemänner, Armenräte und ein türkischer Prinz“ (Municipal Officials, Welfare Board Members and a Turkish Prince), 2011, Published by the Marktgemeinde Kipfenberg.
 Ettle, Elmar: „Kipfenberg - Metropole des Handwerks“ (Kipfenberg – a Metropolis of Artisanry), 2016 

Image Credits:

Kipfenberg Market Square 2: Denger, Dietmar, 2014