The Rathaus on Wernigerode's Marktplatz is widely considered one of the finest half-timbered town halls in Germany. The building presents a fantasy of medieval carpentry to the square — steep pointed gables, an elaborate oriel window, and carved wooden figures that project from every surface. The effect is almost theatrical, and the square in front of it, lined with more half-timbered houses, is one of the most photographed scenes in the Harz.
The building's most unusual feature is that it was never designed as a coherent whole: it grew organically over centuries, incorporating an older structure and adding elements piecemeal. Inside, the main hall is occasionally open for functions and exhibitions. The surrounding old town has hundreds of half-timbered houses in various states of preservation; the Rathaus is the most elaborate of them.