The Old bailiwick at Markt 2 is no longer recognizable as such today. The building is probably the oldest secular building in our town. Its medieval building shell still shows the remains of a former bower, i.e. a fortified residential building. In 2006, a building history study was carried out on this building. This revealed that the house was probably built before the town hall. However, there is no documentary evidence of this. The investigation also revealed that the building comprises three main construction phases. The construction phase around 1550 is the most distinctive, both in terms of the layout of the rooms and the exterior appearance.

The former external appearance of the building is most clearly recognizable on the north façade. However, the extension phase around 1550 was preceded by an older structure. The brickwork of the northern outer wall and the massive roof cornice can be dated to the High Middle Ages (1050 to 1250). Historic interior furnishings have been preserved in two large rooms on the first and second floors. The building itself is and was very dominant in the townscape, as it towers above the town hall. It can be assumed that the house was used by the sovereign or his representative, the bailiff. 

Several bailiffs are mentioned for Tennstedt between 1074 and 1364. They represented the emperor, Gandersheim Abbey and the Thuringian landgrave in the town. The single and double columns in the southern window front, which are very elaborately designed, give an indication of the unusual use of the building. Similar column arrangements can only be found in the "Haus zum Stockfisch" in Erfurt.

After the construction phase around 1550, the building was mainly used for representative purposes and from 1664 it was probably the seat of the district office of the political district of Tennstedt. It was later used as a residential and commercial building. There is evidence that a butcher's shop was located in the building around 1900. Due to monument protection requirements, the house was owned by the town of Bad Tennstedt for several years. Today it is once again privately owned.