76-726: Birkenhead Town Hall is a civic building and former town hall in Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula in Merseyside , England . The building was the former administrative headquarters of the County Borough of Birkenhead, and more recently, council offices for the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral . Birkenhead Town Hall remains the location of the town's register office . However, since the closure of
152-410: A city or a town . Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as the means by which a mayor is elected or otherwise mandated. Depending on the system chosen, a mayor may be the chief executive officer of the municipal government, may simply chair a multi-member governing body with little or no independent power, or may play
228-407: A debating chamber for council meetings, office space for city employees, an archive room for official documents, and some degree of fortification lest the city be attacked. The Palazzo Senatorio has been the headquarters of the municipal government of Rome since 1144, making it the oldest city hall in the world. The Cologne City Hall of 1135 is another early example. The Palazzo Pubblico of
304-478: A civic town hall have become separated. Particularly in North America, "city hall" can be used as a metonym to mean municipal government , or government in general, as in the axiom "You can't fight city hall". "Town hall" tends to have less formal connotations (cf. Town meeting ). Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of
380-422: A covered space to function as a marketplace at street level, and one or more rooms used for public or civic purposes above it. These buildings were frequently the precursors of dedicated town halls. The modern concept of the town hall developed with the rise of medieval communes . Much as a lord was based in his hall, the new councils which formed to rule the cities required a headquarters. This building needed
456-516: A detailed scale model of the historic Woodside area in 1934. Birkenhead Town Hall still retains some civic service, such as the municipal registration centre for births, marriages and deaths and as a venue for local and national elections . It is also utilised for the celebration of notable occasions and as the town's focal point for annual Remembrance Sunday ceremonies. Some of the grand civic rooms are also used for social events including weddings . In 2009 owners Wirral Borough Council advertised
532-498: A directly elected mayor of the Dublin Metropolitan Area . The 2019 local elections included plebiscites in three areas on directly elected mayors, of which that for Mayor of Limerick was passed, with the first direct election due as part of the 2024 local elections . In Italy, the mayor is called sindaco , or informally primo cittadino ('first citizen'). Every municipality ( Italian : comune ) has
608-714: A five-year term. Local administration elections for the new, consolidated municipalities and peripheries will henceforth be held together with the elections for the European Parliament . Local administration in Greece recently underwent extensive reform in two phases: the first phase, implemented in 1997 and commonly called the Kapodistrias Plan , consolidated the country's numerous municipalities and communities down to approximately 1000. The second phase, initially called Kapodistrias II but eventually called
684-836: A great variety and flexibility of purpose in mind. In some European countries, the town hall is the venue for the declaration of Christmas Peace , such as Turku and Porvoo in Finland and Tartu in Estonia . As symbols of local government, city, and town halls have distinctive architecture, and the buildings may have great historical significance – for example the Guildhall, London . City hall buildings may also serve as cultural icons that symbolize their cities. City Hall buildings often serve citizens in accessing government functions as well as providing vital symbolic roles for their communities. In Commonwealth countries ,
760-475: A linguistic origin with the military rank of major , both ultimately derived from French majeur . In modern England and Wales, the position of mayor descends from the feudal lord's bailiff or reeve ( see borough ). The chief magistrate of London bore the title of portreeve for considerably more than a century after the Norman Conquest . This official was elected by popular choice,
836-567: A mayor may wear robes, a mayoral chain and a mace . Mayors have the title of His/Her Worship whilst holding the position. In councils where councillors are elected representing political parties, the mayor is normally the leader of the party receiving the most seats on council. In Queensland , the lord mayor and mayors are elected by popular vote at the general council election. Mayors in Bangladesh are elected every five years. They are very powerful in municipal government. The mayor
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#1732798481104912-453: A mayor who represents the local government. The mayor is directly elected every five years by the inhabitants of the comune ; the mayor cannot serve for more than two consecutive terms, except in municipalities of up to 5,000 inhabitants, those having a three consecutive terms limit. The mayor is a member of the City council, the legislative body which checks the mayor's policy guidelines and
988-480: A population bigger than 25,000 has one. The term Oberbürgermeister is not used in the three city-states, where the mayors are simultaneously head of state governments , but Regierender Bürgermeister ( Governing Mayor of Berlin ), Erster Bürgermeister ( First Mayor of the city-state of Hamburg ) and Präsident des Senats und Bürgermeister ( President of the Senate and Mayor of Bremen ) are used. However,
1064-515: A privilege secured from King John . By the beginning of the 12th century, the title of portreeve gave way to that of mayor as the designation of the chief officer of London, followed around 1190 by that of Winchester . Other boroughs adopted the title later. In the 19th century, the Municipal Corporations Act 1882 , Section 15, regulated the election of mayors. The mayor was to be a fit person elected annually on 9 November by
1140-407: A regional strategic authority. The Oxford English Dictionary sums up the generic terms: County Council administrations in parts of England and Wales generally operate from a base in a building called, by analogy, a " county hall " or "shire hall". Conversely, cities that have subdivisions with their councils may have borough halls. Scottish local government in larger cities operates from
1216-473: A solely ceremonial role. A mayor's duties and responsibilities may be to appoint and oversee municipal managers and employees, provide basic governmental services to constituents, and execute the laws and ordinances passed by a municipal governing body (or mandated by a state, territorial or national governing body). Options for selection of a mayor include direct election by the public, or selection by an elected governing council or board. The term mayor shares
1292-474: A term of four years. The daily duties of the mayor's office are restricted to local governance, and as such, it is responsible for the coordination of waste collection , upkeep of public spaces (e.g., parks, undeveloped urban parcels, streets), traffic light control, sewage, and most public utilities. In practice, most of its duties are centered on minor street repairs (new or large road projects, like overpasses, bridges, pedestrian crossings, etc. are handled by
1368-416: A total cost of £900). After a fire in 1901, the upper part of the clock tower was rebuilt to a design by Henry Hartley. The rebuilding included a stained glass window by Gilbert P. Gamon representing Edward I's visit to Birkenhead Priory in 1277. Despite the abolition of the County Borough of Birkenhead on 1 April 1974, the building continued to be used as council offices until the early 1990s, when work
1444-630: Is a distinction between the Council House and the Town Hall , a concert and meeting venue that pre-dates it. In Sheffield , the distinction is between the Town Hall , the seat of local government, and the City Hall , a concert and ballroom venue. In Leeds , the Town Hall , built in the 1850s as a seat of local government, now functions primarily as a concert, conference, and wedding venue, many of its municipal functions having moved in 1933 to
1520-462: Is elected in a pair with a vice mayor through direct elections and is a political office. An exception is Special Capital Region of Jakarta , where mayoralty is a civil-service career position with limited authority and is designated by the governor . Their regions are called administration cities ( kota administrasi ). Before 1999, there were administrative cities ( kota administratif , [id] ) which were headed by administrative mayors. In Iran ,
1596-685: Is just a deputy responsible for a distinct task (e.g., welfare or construction works). Big cities are usually kreisfrei ('district-free'). That means that the city council also has the powers and duties of a rural district council. The leader of a rural district council is called Landrat ('land counsellor'). In that case, the chief mayor also has the duties and powers of a Landrat . There are also some German states that allow smaller cities to have an Oberbürgermeister as well. In Saarland , for instance, every city with more than 35,000 inhabitants has one, and in Saxony-Anhalt every city with
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#17327984811041672-754: Is made between city halls and town halls. The term is also sometimes (but more rarely) used as a name in Commonwealth countries: for example, for the City Halls of Brisbane in Australia, and of Cardiff , Norwich and Bristol in the UK. City Hall in Dublin , Ireland, is another example. City Hall in London, opened in 2002, is an exceptional case, being the seat not of a conventional municipal authority, but of
1748-528: Is one of the grandest examples of the medieval era, serving as a model for 19th-century town halls such as the Rathaus, Vienna . Over centuries, the idea of civic representation along with notions of urbanism and public space evolved. Even the building form grew in size and the town hall concept expanded beyond Europe to become an established institution across the world. As the functions of government generally and municipal government in particular expanded in
1824-732: Is still in use when referring to the top managers of the municipalities of Norway . The top elected official of the municipalities of Norway, on the other hand, has the title ordfører , which actually means 'word-bearer', i.e. 'chairperson' or 'president', an equivalent to the Swedish word ordförande . In Sweden borgmästare was a title of the senior judge of the courts of the cities, courts which were called rådhusrätt , literally 'town hall court', somewhat of an equivalent to an English magistrates' court . These courts were abolished in 1971. Until 1965, these mayor judges on historical grounds also performed some administrative functions in
1900-517: Is the highest-ranking official in municipal governments in Bangladesh. Every municipality in Brazil elects a mayor (Portuguese: prefeito/prefeita ) and a vice-mayor (Portuguese: vice-prefeito/vice-prefeita ) for a four-year term, acting as an executive officer with the city council (Portuguese: Câmara Municipal ) functioning with legislative powers. The mayor can be re-elected and manage
1976-569: Is the practice in most Commonwealth countries, in Canada a mayor is addressed as His/Her Worship while holding office. In a few municipalities and townships in Ontario , the reeve is the elected head of the municipality, and the second-in-command is referred to as the deputy reeve . Historically, in some small townships , the title "reeve" was used instead of mayor. In some other municipalities, "mayor" and "reeve" were two separate offices, with
2052-839: The Alcalde evolved during the Reconquista as new lands were settled by the expanding kingdoms of León and Castile . As fortified settlements in the area between the Douro and Tagus rivers became true urban centers, they gained, from their feudal lords or the kings of Leon and Castile, the right to have councils. Among the rights that these councils had was to elect a municipal judge ( iudex in Latin and juez in Spanish). These judges were assisted in their duties by various assistant judges, called alcaldes , whose number depended on
2128-523: The audiencias ; Alcaldes de la Casa y Corte de Su Majestad , who formed the highest tribunal in Castile and also managed the royal court; alcaldes mayores , a synonym for corregidor ; and alcaldes de barrio , who were roughly the equivalent of British parish constables . Because of this, the municipal alcalde was often referred to as an alcalde ordinario . Mayors in Armenia are
2204-550: The Kallikratis Plan , was implemented in 2010, further consolidated municipalities down to 370, and merged the country's 54 prefectures, which were disbanded in favour of the larger 13 regions. The Kallikratian municipalities were designed according to several guidelines; for example, each island (except Crete ) was incorporated into a single municipality, while the majority of small towns were consolidated so as to have an average municipal population of 25,000. In India ,
2280-749: The Lord Mayor of Sydney (Australia) , are elected. In Scotland the post holders are known as convenors, provosts , or lord provosts depending on the local authority. Since reforms introduced in 2000, a number of English local authorities have directly elected mayors who combine the "civic" mayor role with that of leader of the council and have significantly greater powers than either. Areas which now have directly elected mayors include cities, local government districts which cover several towns and rural areas, and since 2014 combined authority areas which include two or more local authority districts. The original Frankish mayors or majordomos were – like
2356-464: The Philippines ) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality . It usually houses the city or town council and at least some other arms of the local government. It also often functions as the office of the mayor (or other executive), if the relevant municipality has such an officer. In large cities, the local government is often administratively expansive, and
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2432-680: The Republic of Siena and the Palazzo Vecchio of the Republic of Florence , both late-medieval town halls, date from 1297 and 1299 respectively. In each case, the large, fortified building comprises a large meeting hall and numerous administrative chambers. Both buildings are topped by tall towers, have ancient clocks against which townsfolk measured time, and have space for local archives of official documents. These features became standard for town halls across Europe. The 15th-century Brussels Town Hall , with its 96-meter (315 ft) tower,
2508-523: The Wirral Museum in 2010, there is uncertainty over the future purpose of the Grade II* listed building . When Hamilton Square was designed in the early 19th century, a plot of land was made available for the siting of a town hall between Hamilton Street and Chester Street. Designed by local architect Christopher Ellison, the building was constructed using Scottish granite and sandstone from
2584-511: The king's lands . To maintain its dependence on and loyalty to the Crown, the position was forbidden to the leaders of the clan groups. A separate mayor, known as the "cow dung mayor" ( maer biswail ), was charged with overseeing the royal cattle. There were similar offices at the Scottish and Irish courts. The office of mayor in most modern English and Welsh boroughs and towns did not in
2660-624: The mayor-council government in the United States. The chief executives of boroughs ( arrondissements ) in Quebec are termed mayors ( maires/mairesses in French). A borough mayor simultaneously serves as head of the borough council and as a regular councillor on the main city council. The scheduling of municipal elections in Canada varies by jurisdiction, as each province and territory has its own laws regarding municipal governance. As
2736-534: The "City Chambers". Other names are occasionally used. The administrative headquarters of the City of London retains its Anglo-Saxon name, the Guildhall , signifying a place where taxes were paid. In a few English cities (including Birmingham , Coventry and Nottingham ) the preferred term is "Council House": this was also true in Bristol until 2012, when the building was renamed " City Hall ". In Birmingham, there
2812-574: The 16th century in Sweden, king Gustav Vasa considerably centralised government and appointed the mayors directly. In 1693 king Charles XI accepted a compromise after repeated petitions from the Estate of the Burgesses over decades against the royal mayor appointments. The compromise was that the burgesses in a city could normally nominate a mayor under the supervision of the local governor. The nominee
2888-431: The 19th and 20th centuries, the role of town and city halls became broader. Many cities established a reading room in their city hall, which later grew into a public library , typically in its own building. The central room in a town hall (the "hall" proper) began to be used for a variety of other functions; some cities installed a large pipe organ to facilitate public entertainment. In the 20th century, town halls served
2964-469: The 20th century entail any important administrative duties and was generally regarded as an honor conferred for local distinction, long service on the council, or for past services. The mayor was expected to devote much of their time to civic, ceremonial, and representational functions, and to preside over meetings for the advancement of the public welfare. The administrative duties of mayors were to act as returning officer at parliamentary elections and to chair
3040-509: The Imperial Ghibelline faction – were led by podestàs . The Greek equivalent of a mayor is the demarch ( Greek : δήμαρχος , lit. ' archon of the deme '). In Denmark all municipalities are led by a political official called borgmester , 'mayor'. The mayor of Copenhagen is however called overborgmester 'lord mayor'. In that city other mayors, borgmestre (plural), are subordinate to
3116-665: The Ministry of Public Works (Spanish: Ministerio de Obras Públicas ), under the direct control of the central government. Subcontracting garbage collection and management, overseeing the use of public spaces, and arbitrating neighborhood land use disputes, which are managed by the National Property office (Spanish: Oficina de Bienes Nacionales ), is also controlled by the mayor's office. Water, electrical supply and public transportation coordination are handled by several central government offices, and as such, are not under
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3192-789: The Welsh meiri – lords commanding the king's lands around the Merovingian courts in Austrasia , Burgundy , and Neustria . The mayorship of Paris eventually became hereditary in the Pippinids , who later established the Carolingian dynasty . In modern France , since the Revolution , a mayor ( maire ) and a number of mayoral adjuncts ( adjoints au maire ) are selected by the municipal council from among their number. Most of
3268-527: The administrative work is left in their hands, with the full council meeting comparatively infrequently. The model was copied throughout Europe in Britain's mayors, Italy's sindacos , most of the German states' burgomasters , and Portugal's presidents of the municipal chambers . In Medieval Italy , the city-states who did not consider themselves independent principalities or dukedoms – particularly those of
3344-479: The authority of the council between meetings. Mayoral decisions made between meetings are subject to council and may be confirmed or repealed if necessary. Mayors in Australia may be elected either directly through a ballot for the position of mayor at a local-government election, or alternatively may be elected from within the council at a meeting. The civic regalia and insignia of local government have basically remained unaltered for centuries. For ceremonial occasions
3420-441: The board of magistrates, in Swedish known collectively as magistrat . Until 1965 there were also municipal mayors ( kommunalborgmästare ), who had these non-political administrative roles in smaller cities without a magistrates' court or magistrat . This office was an invention of the 20th century as the smaller cities in Sweden during the first half of the 20th century subsequently lost their own courts and magistrates. In
3496-449: The building for sale or lease, as part of its Strategic Asset Review. The council has invited "expressions of interest from individuals and organisations who can demonstrate that they can secure a sustainable use for this important building." Town hall In local government , a city hall , town hall , civic centre (in the UK or Australia ), guildhall , or municipal building (in
3572-422: The city for two consecutive terms. Mayoral elections in Brazil occur in two different ways: in municipalities with more than 200,000 inhabitants, the voting happens in a two-round system , like the presidential and gubernatorial elections. In municipalities with less than 200,000 inhabitants, the voting happens in a relative majority system (with only one round). The Brazilian system works similarly to
3648-449: The city hall may bear more resemblance to a municipal capitol building. By convention, until the middle of the 19th century, a single large open chamber (or "hall") formed an integral part of the building housing the council and such other organs of government as supported it. The hall may be used for council meetings and other significant events. This large chamber, the "town hall" (and its later variant "city hall") became synonymous with
3724-417: The control of the mayor. Mayors ( maires ) are elected for a six-year term by the municipal council, whose members are elected by direct universal suffrage in local elections held every six years. In Germany, local government is regulated by state statutes. Nowadays only the mayors of the three city-states (Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen ) are still elected by the respective city-state parliaments. In all
3800-407: The council of the borough from among the aldermen or councilors or persons qualified to be such. His term of office was one year, but he was eligible for re-election. He might appoint a deputy to act during illness or absence, and such deputy must be either an alderman or councilor. A mayor who was absent from the borough for more than two months became disqualified and had to vacate his office. A mayor
3876-441: The head of the executive branch of municipal government . Mayors are often elected by the respective city council and serve for a five-year term. The mayor heads the community administration, nominates members of the administration to various posts, and oversees the municipal budget. In Australian councils, the mayor is generally the member of the council who acts as a ceremonial figurehead at official functions, as well as carrying
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#17327984811043952-421: The highest executive official is not democratically elected, but is appointed to a public office by the city council, and is called simply kaupunginjohtaja 'city manager' or kunnanjohtaja 'municipal manager', depending on whether the municipality defines itself as a city. The term pormestari 'mayor', from Swedish borgmästare confusingly on historical grounds has referred to the highest official in
4028-678: The king ceased after 1720 (the so-called Age of Liberty ). On 16 October 1723, it was decided after a petition that the city should present three nominees, of whom the king (or the Council of the Realm) appointed one. This was kept as a rule from then on in all later regulations and was also kept as a tradition in the 1809 Instrument of Government ( § 31 ) until 1965. In Finland , there are two mayors, in Tampere and Pirkkala . Usually in Finland
4104-486: The lord mayor with different undertakings, like ministers to a prime minister. In other municipalities in Denmark there is only a single mayor. In Norway and Sweden the mayoral title borgermester / borgmästare has now been abolished. Norway abolished it in 1937 as a title of the non-political top manager of (city) municipalities and replaced it with the title rådmann (' alderman ' or ' magistrate '), which
4180-818: The mayor is the executive manager of a city and is elected by the Islamic City Council. The mayor is elected for a four-year term. In the Republic of Ireland , the head of a borough corporation was called "mayor" from the Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840 until boroughs were abolished by the Local Government Reform Act 2014 . City council chairs are "mayor" (or "lord mayor" in the cases of Dublin and of Cork ). The Local Government Act 2001 allowed county councils to style their chairperson as "mayor" and some do so. Since 2000 there have been proposals for
4256-575: The mayor is the first citizen of a city and the head of municipal corporation which is a local government of cities with a population over one million. They have a number of roles, both ceremonial and functional. In most Indian states mayors are elected indirectly among the corporators (who are directly elected by the people of their respective wards ) of the municipal corporation, except in nine states: Bihar , Chhattisgarh , Haryana , Jharkhand , Madhya Pradesh , Odisha , Uttar Pradesh , Telangana and Uttarakhand , where mayors are elected directly by
4332-505: The mayor retaining leadership powers while the reeve was equivalent to what other municipalities called an " at-large councillor". Today most municipalities in the province now designate their elected municipal government heads as mayors, but a small handful retain the position. This continues to be the case in the following municipalities and townships : The reeve is also the chief elected official in most of Alberta 's municipal districts . The elected heads of rural municipalities (RM) in
4408-551: The meetings of the council. The mayor of a town council is officially known as "town mayor" (although in popular parlance, the word town is often dropped). The person is known as "mayor" regardless of gender; the partner of a mayor is sometimes known as the "mayoress". Since the 1974 local government reforms , mayors are also appointed to English local government districts which have borough status . This results in mayors of districts which include towns which also have separate mayors. In districts which do not have borough status,
4484-443: The new Civic Hall . Large halls called basilicas were used in ancient Rome for the administration of justice, as meeting places, and for trade. The development of the town hall as a setting for local governance meetings and decisions is historically related to the early cities in medieval Europe. The objective was to have engagement with the citizens in a public space by a representative civic authority. The oldest town hall in
4560-530: The now filled-in local quarry at Storeton . It was officially opened in 1887. The building consisted of a council chamber, offices, with a concert hall and function rooms known as the Assembly Rooms. Birkenhead's magistrates' court chambers are located in a separate building of the same design to the rear. The clock tower is 200 feet in height and displays four faces; the clock and five bells within were manufactured and fitted by Gillett & Co. (at
4636-520: The number of parishes the town had. The title alcalde was borrowed from the Arabic al-qaḍi ( قاضي ), meaning 'the judge'. The word alcalde originally was used for simple judges, as in Andalusian Arabic . Only later was it applied to the presiding municipal magistrate. This early use continued to be reflected in its other uses, such as alcaldes del crimen , the judges in
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#17327984811044712-461: The other states the mayors are now elected directly by the EU citizens living in that area. The post of mayor may be said to be a professional one, the mayor being the head of the local government, and requiring, in order to be eligible, training in administration. In big cities (details are regulated by state statutes) the official title is Oberbürgermeister (mayor). In these cities, a "simple" mayor
4788-488: The provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan are also referred to as a reeve. The mayor of a municipality in the Dominican Republic is called indistinctly alcalde or síndico . The latter name is preferred to avoid confusing the title with the similar-sounding alcaide (lit. ' prison warden '). Such a person is the governor of the municipality whose township elected him (or her) by direct vote for
4864-427: The public as places for voting, examinations, vaccinations , disaster relief, and disseminating information through noticeboards, as well as for the more usual civil functions, festivities, and entertainments. Local councils have increasingly tended to move administrative functions into modern offices. Where new premises are designed and constructed to house local governments, the functions of an administrative office and
4940-495: The public. In Indonesia , mayor ( Indonesian : wali kota , formerly called walikotamadya and walikota ) is a regional head of a city or town. A mayor has the same level as a regent ( bupati ), head of a regency ( kabupaten ). Basically, a mayor has the duty and authority to lead the implementation of the policies established by the region along with the city council ( Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Daerah Kota , DPRD Kota; formerly called Tier 2-DPRD ( DPRD Tingkat II )). A mayor
5016-619: The records in the collection are documents and photographs from Birkenhead's Cammell Laird shipyard, when the original company closed in 1993. Between 2001 and 2010, the Wirral Museum occupied a significant portion of the building. It featured both themed and permanent exhibits such as the history and development of Wirral, the Cammell Laird collection, the Wirral Silver and Mayoral collections, Della Robbia Pottery and
5092-438: The registry office and in the city courts (abolished in 1993) as in Sweden, not the city manager. In addition, pormestari is also an honorary title, which may be given for distinguished service in the post of the city manager. The city manager of Helsinki is called ylipormestari , which translates to 'chief mayor', for historical reasons. Furthermore, the term city manager may be seen translated as mayor . The office of
5168-711: The role of civic leader is taken by the chairman of the council, who undertakes exactly the same functions as a mayor of a district with borough status. Many major cities in the United Kingdom and throughout the Commonwealth have a lord mayor , a special recognition bestowed by the sovereign . Although the position is often ceremonial, with executive responsibilities under the control of an elected mayor, lord mayors in several Commonwealth cities including Belfast , Cardiff , Brisbane , and Dublin hold both ceremonial and executive duties. Some lord mayors, including
5244-547: The term Oberbürgermeister was used for the head of the state government of West Berlin until 1951 and was also used in East Berlin from 1948 to January 1991. Mayors ( δήμαρχοι , dēmarchoi , sing. δήμαρχος , dēmarchos ) in Greece were previously elected every four years in local elections and are the head of various municipal governments in which the state is divided. Starting in 2014, mayors are elected for
5320-467: The term "town hall" may be used even in a city. This is often the case in the United Kingdom (examples being Manchester Town Hall and Liverpool Town Hall ), Australia ( Sydney Town Hall ), New Zealand , and elsewhere. People in some regions use the term "city hall" to designate the council offices of a municipality of city status . This is the case in North America , where a distinction
5396-417: The time it would be occupied by routine administrative and judicial functions. In a smaller manor, a lord might even live in the hall with his family and retainers. Inasmuch as the manor was the primary local jurisdiction of medieval society, the hall was a place of great local importance. In the later Middle Ages or early modern period , many European market towns erected communal market halls , comprising
5472-659: The whole building, and, synecdochically , the municipal government headquartered there. The terms "council chambers", "municipal building" or variants may be used locally in preference to "town hall" if no such large hall is present within the building. The local government may endeavor to use the building to promote and enhance the quality of life of the community. In many cases, "town halls" serve not only as buildings for government functions, but also have facilities for various civic and cultural activities. These may include art shows, stage performances, exhibits, and festivals. Modern town halls or "civic centres" are often designed with
5548-567: The world is Palazzo Senatorio in Rome , Italy, which is established in AD 1144. In the Early Middle Ages , the great hall , a single large open chamber, was the main, and sometimes only room of the home of a feudal lord . A great variety of activities took place in the hall, which was an all-purpose space. The lord would host banquets and other grand ceremonies in the hall, but most of
5624-449: Was ex officio a justice of the peace for the borough during his year of office and the following year. He received such remuneration as the council thought reasonable. These provisions have now been repealed. In medieval Wales, the Laws of Hywel Dda codified the mayor ( Latin : maior ; Welsh : maer ) as a position at the royal courts charged with administering the serfs of
5700-554: Was then to be presented to and appointed by the king, but the king could appoint mayors directly in exceptional cases. This was codified in the Instrument of Government of 1720 and on 8 July the same year Riksrådet ("the Council of the Realm") decided, after a petition from the said Estate, that only the city could present nominees, not the king or anyone else. Thus the supervision of the local governor and directly appointed mayors by
5776-466: Was undertaken to restore the external stonework and many interior decorations and features, including the former council chamber. The Wirral Archives Service was based in the building until 2008, when it transferred to the council's Cheshire Lines Building nearby. The service collects and stores all types of historical documents relating to the Wirral area, its people, businesses and institutions. Amongst
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