The Modern Era
In 1424, after the Jews had been expelled from Cologne, the City Council ordered the demolition of parts of the Jewish Quarter. For the first time, an open space developed in front of the Town Hall. The Synagogue was converted into the Council Chapel and dedicated toSt. Mary-in-Jerusalem. It was not until the Second World War that the chapel was destroyed. The last remains were cleared in 1954-5. Nevertheless, the unique glass windows of the sacristy and valuable decor have survived to this day. The chapel's most significant work of art, Stefan Lochner's famous altarpiece of the Patron Saints of Cologne, today displayed in Cologne Cathedral.
In the course of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries an increasing number of administrative buildings emerged around the Town Hall Square. The Rathauslaube (Town Hall Loggia) and the Spanischer Bau (Spanish Building) are the most important buildings of the Renaissance in Cologne.
In the nineteenth century the Town Hall Square was subject to radical changes. On both sides of the Portalsgasse the medieval houses were replaced by Neo-Renaissance administrative buildings. At the same time, the majority of the old town-houses located at the streets Oben Marspfoten and Unter Goldschmied had to give way to new multi-storey buildings.
The destruction layers of the Second World War are thoroughly documented. They expose the touching remains of personal belongings and household goods of the last residents.