The town hall of Lübeck is one of the most beautiful Gothic-style brick buildings of its kind in Germany. Construction started in 1226 shortly after Lübeck was granted Reichsfreiheit, an imperial charter, and became a free imperial city. The town hall was completed in 1308. The addition with its huge façade featuring differently coloured bricks and sharp towers was only erected in 1435. The Renaissance staircase on Breite Straße was built in 1594 based on the design of the Flemish sculptor Robert Coppens. It led to the former treasure of the town hall, the Kriegsstube (war room), which was destroyed in March 1942 in the first heavy air raid on Lübeck and not rebuilt. The name shows that the Hanseatic League not only had economic power but political power too, giving it a say in decisions on peace or war.