The historic town of Schwäbisch Hall bears witness to the varied building styles over the centuries, a tradition which finds confident expression to this day in sensitive, yet bold planning policies. An example of this is the recent work on two sections of the old town ramparts - the Schiedgraben and the Hirschgraben. Ditches and old stonework were renovated and made safe, new steps and ramps incorporated between the walls, and, in the Schiedgraben, a modest steel footbridge set on the pillars of a stone predecessor. The carefully designed steel elements detract little from the historic stonework. Along the Hirschgraben a series of symbolic structures in steel are a contemporary reminder of the towers which once formed part of the battlements here.