Station: [4] City Hall / Garden Pavilion / Renaissance Bay Window

The fate of Xanten and its districts is controlled from Xanten City Hall. The building comprises the former teacher training college and a modern functional extension. The small protruding stairway tower in the courtyard is still maintained in its original condition. The carillon that rings six times a day can be heard far beyond the market square. Let's climb the City Hall steps. [Pause] From here, the view extends along the old moss-covered brick wall forming the boundary between the city and the church. The octagonal pavilion juts out at the eastern corner of the Immunity. This little house was once a canon’s garden pavilion built in the Baroque style of the 18th Century. From here, the landlord could not only let his eyes wander across his garden but he also had a good view of the lively activities in the market square. There, amongst others, lived Professor Dr. Walter Baader, the curator and saviour of the Xanten Cathedral. A little further, towards the "Gothic House", another architectural gem attracts our attention: The bay window of a Renaissance house. Unlike the once magnificent building, which no longer exists, this bay window has survived the ravages of war. The surviving bay window made of ashlar, which was originally part of the summer residence of the Monastery Deacon Kaspar von Ulft, is an example of the individualism typical of the basic ideas of the Renaissance, which could be found everywhere in philosophy, art and also in architecture.