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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The House of Knights, located in Wissembourg in the Lower Rhine, is a historic monument registered since 1990. Built in the early 17th century, it served as a hotel at Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul Abbey, welcoming distinguished guests and knights summoned for the equestrian court, active until 1620. Its architecture combines a Renaissance wing with carved gables (volutes, rosaces, lions' heads and angels) and an 18th-century wing, marked by arched doors dating from 1730.

The Renaissance wing, perpendicular to the street, is distinguished by its gable decorated with carved decorations and an inscription in German, replaced during a restoration by a dedication in French. The facade features murals in trompe-l'oeil (guirland, feint windows) dating from about 1880. Originally, a screw staircase, now destroyed, completed the whole, while an exterior staircase, redone, appears already on a plan of 1841.

This building illustrates the role of the Alsatian abbeys as places of power and reception in the seventeenth century. The Chevaliers Court, a local judicial institution, sat there until 1620, reflecting the social and religious organization of the region under the Old Regime. The house, although partially inaccessible (northern courtyard not visited), remains an architectural testimony of the exchanges between secular elites and ecclesiasticals in Alsace.

The side door, dated 1604, and the protected elements (renaissance wing facades and roofs) underline its heritage importance. Subsequent transformations, such as the 18th century wing or 19th century paintings, reveal continuous occupation and adaptations to successive needs, from the monastic hotel to its present status as a listed monument.

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