The area of the royal palace gradually took on an urban character from the 12th century onwards. The town wall of the early 13th century already enclosed the old palatinate area and in 1221 the new town was mentioned for the first time with the naming of a local priest. The market as a prerequisite for urban development was established to the east of St. Mary's Church and the predecessor building of the Brotlaube and extended with the salt and cabbage market to Grasegasse and Bollstedter Gasse. The market days on Wednesdays, the weekly market alternating with the lower market and annual markets characterized the market scene. Bakers and butchers sold their goods in the bread arbor and in the meat house built in 1577 from stones from the abandoned St. John's Church, after the older meat benches had been demolished. The bread arbor was also used by garment cutters to sell their valuable cloths protected from the weather.

The king had transferred jurisdiction over life and limb to the Mühlhausen council, thus consolidating its status as an imperial city. In the Palatinate tradition, the council exercised this right symbolically on the Obermarkt. In particular, offenses against the council, such as the execution of a mayor of the "Eternal Council" during the Peasants' War in 1525 and the executions of the leaders of the civic rebellions of 1630 and 1734, were punished here with great publicity. Lesser misdeeds such as theft were punished in the "Trillhäuschen", erected in 1675, where convicted offenders were turned until they fainted. The special character of the Obermarkt was also reflected in the fact that "acts of state" were celebrated here, such as the proclamation of the city's statutes after the Reformation was implemented in 1566, the homage paid to emperors after their election, on their birthdays and on the birth of princes and princesses, the welcoming of passing princes as well as celebrations of victory and peace.

With the construction of the post office building in 1882 in place of the Fleischhaus, Obermarkt was known as Postplatz until it regained its historical name in 1990. With the restoration of the Brotlaube and the town houses in the surrounding area, the redesign of the square in 1998/99 and the firmly established use of the market, the Obermarkt became a worthy central location in our town.