Bremen Town Hall (Rathaus), which is now called the Old, was erected in 1405. The rich Hanseatic city could afford such a gorgeous building at the time. In the first year after the construction barrels of wine were transported in the basement (Ratskeller). Then, according to local law, only the City Council could sell white wine from the Rhine Valley. The monopoly has ended only in 1815.
Now Town Hall’s cellar stores the richest collection of Rhine wine in the country. It offers visitors a collection of 650 wines. The oldest of them were made back in 1653 in the town of Rudesheim am Rhein. Town Hall building itself is included in UNESCO World Heritage List.