Town Hall

The modern-day town hall of Kehl was built in 1817 as a two-storey barracks following the design of Baden architect Friedrich Arnold, a Weinbrenner scholar. It was extended that same year through the addition of a third floor (a commander’s apartment). In 1869 this third storey was demolished for safety reasons because it obstructed the view from the military posts in the tower of the Church of Christ (Christuskirche) which kept the railway bridge under surveillance.

After the annexation of Alsace and the boundary shifts that occurred as a result of the 1870/71 war, the barracks lost its military significance, housing a doctor and school classes in 1872 instead. The building became the town hall in 1910 after the unification of the hitherto independent municipalities of "Kehl the village" and "Kehl the town". 1921–23 saw the rebuilding of the third top floor by architect Arthur Valendaire, who also altered and extended the building in a neoclassical style. This style is reflected in the wings and in the projection supported by four pillars. In 1999 the building donned its current dusty-pink look and the tympanum was bedecked in blazonry.

Five coats of arms display a small selection of the numerous stately houses which once took possession of Kehl (f. l. t. r.: coat of arms of the House of Nassau; coat of arms of ‚Unser Frauen Werk‘ of the city of Strasbourg; coat of arms of the House of Baden; Bourbone coat of arms; coat of arms of Messrs Böcklin von Böcklinsau). Three additional coats of arms lie between the four half-columns of the main facade. On the left is that of the village of Kehl and in the middle is the coat of arms symbolising the unification of village and town, which was replaced in 1934 by the current coat of arms on the right.