The
New Building was designed, literally, as a "new building" with no specific purpose at first apart from adding some space to the older administrative buildings that stood then on what is now Place Gutenberg: the town hall (demolished in 1781), the
chancery (demolished in 1800), the
mint (demolished in 1738). The novelty of the building was also reflected by its then decidedly modern style, probably the work of architects and artists from
Switzerland. The
pilasters of the three floors are crowned (from top to bottom) with
Tuscan,
Ionian and
Corinthian capitals. Strasbourg's other Renaissance civic buildings and palaces, such as the butcher's
hall Grosse Metzig (now housing the
Musée historique) or the
Hôtel de Boecklinsau were all built or started in the decade following the opening of the Neubau. In 1781, the Neubau became the new town hall of Strasbourg after the ancient town hall (or
Pfalz), a medieval building, was torn down and razed. During the
French Revolution, the new town hall was pillaged and the original furniture all but disappeared. It became the
Chamber of commerce in 1792 and was refurnished by orders of
Napoleon in 1802; thus the reception rooms now display Baroque
tapestries and early 19th-century furniture. In 1867, the architect, Eugène Petiti (1809–1883) added an aisle on the south side of the building, exactly replicating the 1580s style. The Neubau was completely renovated in the 2000s. == Gallery ==