Date (restoration) 1620 (≈ 1620)
Carved cartridge added later.
1er quart XVIIe siècle
Construction of the house
Construction of the house 1er quart XVIIe siècle (≈ 1725)
House built for Erhart Gutschelin.
1739-1746
Post relay period
Post relay period 1739-1746 (≈ 1743)
Directed by Ignace Ambringer.
28 juin 1929
Historical monument classification
Historical monument classification 28 juin 1929 (≈ 1929)
Registration of facades and interior elements.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Key figures
Erhart Gutschelin - Initial sponsor
Owner to construction in 1620.
Ignace Ambringer - Postmaster and innkeeper
Manages the relay from 1739 to 1746.
Origin and history
The house at 23 Poincaré Street, located in Rouffach in the Upper Rhine, is an emblematic building of Alsatian Renaissance architecture. Built in the 1st quarter of the 17th century, it is distinguished by its stone oriel, supported by female-headed consoles, and a circular staircase turret. The facades, decorated with Renaissance motifs and a cartridge dated 1620 (added during a restoration), reflect the craftsmanship of the time. The ceiling on the 1st floor of the Oriel, carved with roses and ironwork motifs, also bears witness to this decorative richness.
Originally, this building housed a hostel built in 1620 for Erhart Gutschelin. In 1739, she became a post relay under the direction of Ignace Ambringer, postmaster, before losing this post in 1746. Subsequent transformations, such as replacing the ground floor windows with spirals and then closing them, illustrate the successive adaptations of the building. Ranked a historic monument in 1929, the house today protects its facades, oriel, roofs and Renaissance ceiling, symbols of its prestigious past.
The building is part of the urban history of Rouffach, an Alsatian city marked by its commercial and artisanal role in the 17th and 18th centuries. Relay hostels, such as the Half Moon, played a key role in the exchange and movement of travellers, reflecting the economic vitality of the region. The presence of lunar motifs (croissants, cartridges) may evoke local symbols or family weapons, although their exact meaning is not specified in available sources.
