The city hall was built between 1886 and 1897, with a total cost of 5.5 million to replace the old city hall destroyed by the fire in 1842. Hamburg City Hall is one of the famous attractions in Hamburg. It has 647 rooms, six more than Buckingham Palace in Britain. Its interior decoration style is the new Renaissance, Baroque and classical style. Walking into the city hall, visitors first saw the hall supported by 16 stone pillars, 64 reliefs standing on the pillars commemorating Hamburg celebrities. The second floor of the city hall is the seat of the authority. The statues of 20 famous German emperors stand between the windows. There are conference rooms, Council hall, banquet hall, citizen hall, emperor hall, tower hall, mayor hall, orphan hall and Phoenix hall. In the banquet hall, visitors can see five giant murals reflecting the historical development of Hamburg. The Emperor's Hall was originally the place where the Son of Heaven summoned his ministers, but now it is the VIP reception hall. The mayor's reception room is at the northernmost end of the second floor.