Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The town hall of Pfaffenhoffen, now integrated into the municipality of Val-de-Moder since 2016, is a historic monument registered since 1935. Located at the corner of the Market Street, this rectangular, elongated building features two floors on the ground floor, with architectural stoneware elements such as the corner chains and the chambranles. Its ground floor once housed a hall and a guard, while the first floor was dedicated to municipal services. Five slabs embedded in the west façade commemorate the prices of food in the 16th and 19th centuries, such as wheat, barley or wine, reflecting the economic concerns of those times.

Built in 1837 on the site of an old common house called Laube, the town hall was enlarged in 1838 with the addition of a second floor to accommodate two classrooms for Protestant students. This project was based on a logic of adapting public buildings to local educational and administrative needs. The inscriptions on the slabs, dated 1563, 1564, 1814 and 1817, reflect variations in agricultural prices and their importance to the community, particularly during times of post-Napoleonian crisis or reconstruction.

The building, owned by the commune, is distinguished by its facade on protected street since 1935, its hipped roof and its square campanile. The materials used, such as the crepeed bellows and sandstone, as well as the five large doors in the middle of the ground floor, recall its past use as a merchant hall. These architectural and historical features make it a representative example of Alsatian public buildings, marking both the local anchor and the social transformations over centuries.

External links