Gävle is a town with roots in the Middle Ages. The town has experienced major fires every century. Gävle's town hall burnt down during the fires of 1569, 1697 and 1776.

After the third fire, Superintendent Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz (1716-96) was commissioned by King Gustav III to design a new town hall. The completed town hall was a beautifully designed building, which attracted well-warranted praise in its time. We can see a finely proportioned, French-inspired rococo classicism, with a typical elaboration of details in the walls and windows. The town hall of 1790 had flat façades with two rows of windows each containing nine narrow windows and a rustic ground floor with eight round-arched windows and a door - all together 26 windows, which, together with the two in the middle, repeat the 12 windows on the gables. This creates a perfect balance between symmetry and asymmetry.

The Town Hall burnt down again 1869. In the spring of 1871, an architect working in the Superintendent's office, Frans Gustaf Abraham Dahl (1835-1927) was commissioned to restore and rebuild the town hall. Dahl changed the façades of the building so that some architectural elements were more strongly stressed than they had been in Adelcrantz's drawings which gave the façades stronger contrasts. Dahl introduced marked pilasters and deeper windows, moulding and crowns. He also suggested a new clock tower and alterations to the balcony over the north entrance. The plated hipped roof was raised. The old division of rooms was largely retained, but he added the large ceremonial hall as a gathering point. The tower received its carillon in 1972. The carillon has 36 tones and plays folk melodies, chosen to fit the season of the year, at various times of day and night.

All periods have their fashion. In 1987 the town hall was cleaned, its façade became lighter and its corners heavier. In this way the building was given somewhat broader proportions, which is particularly noticeable in the late spring light.

From the beginning Gävle's town hall was planned with several functions in mind. The large vestibule was intended to be a stock exchange, with an adjacent auction chamber. Several rooms served as a gaol with guards, another room served as dining hall, with a kitchen and a room for a restaurant manager. Gävle's first savings bank was also located in the building. No one will be sentenced here anymore; neither will anyone be able to still his and her hunger nor will there be any business transactions done.

The Town Hall is of great historical and cultural value. In the local plan from 1995 it is stated that the façades, the large vestibule, the stairways and the two chambers must be preserved. The county museum is responsible for the antiquarian control.

In 1998 the Institute for Housing and Urban Research moved into the Town Hall. Today's visitors may be nourished spiritually in the excellent research library on the first floor or in seminars dealing with housing policy or the urban environment.