1.The Town Hall as a Courthouse

The Town Hall was also a courthouse, as the town council also held judicial power in the city. The town council passed judgement in the Town Hall from the 13th to the 19th century.

The artworks in the Town Hall were supposed to guide the councillors in passing fair judgement.

During the Middle Ages, the Last Judgement was a symbol of justice. Its depiction is based on New Testament texts, which describe a divine revelation (apokalypsis in Greek) about the end of the world. In the end, Christ will pass judgement on all dead souls for their earthly actions.

The painting depicting the Last Judgement is on the Town Hall facade, behind the courtroom’s windows. Christ is sitting on a rainbow, his feet on the ground, and wearing a red cloak, i.e. “the cloak dipped in blood”. The red walls in the council chamber derive from this. Christ’s right hand guides the pure souls into paradise in heaven and the left hand guides the sinners down into hell. Atop his head is a sword as a symbol of punishment. The Virgin Mary is on Christ’s right hand and the Apostle John is on his left hand.

The painting designated the Town Hall as a courthouse and showed that God passes judgement in the Town Hall through the councillors. The text on the margins of the painting reminds the councillors that they as judges are also subordinate to the heavenly court: on the Day of Judgement God will pass judgement on them based on their administration of justice. The painting is from the first half of the 16th century and its original copy is kept in the Tallinn City Museum.