Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The houses located at 3-5 rue de l'Épine in Strasbourg constitute an architectural complex inscribed with historical monuments. These buildings, built between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, are distinguished by characteristic elements of their time, such as the wrought iron balcony of No. 5, dated from the beginning of the eighteenth century, and an outer lintel of 1683 at the same number. Their location at the corner of Rue du Paon, in the historic centre of Strasbourg, reinforces their heritage interest.

The building was the subject of two campaigns of inscription under the title of historical monuments: the first in 1929, covering the wrought iron balcony of No. 5, the entrance gate and stairway on courtyard of No. 3, as well as Gothic and Renaissance ceilings; the second in 1991, extending the protection to other interior and exterior elements, such as the golden and wooden screw staircase. These inscriptions highlight the artistic and historical value of these houses, now in private ownership.

The interiors of the houses contain architectural treasures, such as a Gothic wooden ceiling on the ground floor of No. 3, a studded Renaissance-style ceiling on the first floor, and a stumb painted on a fireplace. N°5 also houses a wooden staircase, typical of the Alsatian bourgeois mansions of the 17th and 18th centuries. These details reflect the craftsmanship and refinement of the owners of the time, in an area marked by both French and Germanic influences.

Strasbourg, a strategic city at the crossroads of Europe, experienced an important economic and cultural development at this time. The bourgeois houses, like those on the rue de l'Épine, bear witness to the prosperity of local merchants and artisans. Their preservation now allows us to understand the lifestyles, construction techniques and aesthetic tastes of the Strasbourg elites under the Old Regime.

External links