Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The house at 4 rue du Général-de-Gaulle in Benfeld (Bas-Rhin) is an old house dating from the 1st quarter of the 16th century, with architectural elements added or modified during the first half of the 17th century. This building, inscribed in historical monuments since 1929, is distinguished by sculpted details such as the door of the cellar, dated 1566, and a staked shield, testimonies of its past related to the family of Andlau. The staircase and its door, decorated with sculptures, probably date back to the seventeenth century, while subsequent transformations (circa 1935) removed the vault of the tower of stairs and its arrow.

Originally, the street façade had a corbelled floor, characteristic of the Renaissance Alsatian civil architecture. A 16th century relief (?) and an engraved date of 1718 suggest rearrangements or additions. The house also preserves a helical silt with traces of turned balusters, a rare element for the era. Its inscription as a historical monument in 1929 covers only the carved stone of the facade and the staircase with its door on courtyard, reflecting its limited but significant heritage interest.

The house is associated with the family of Andlau, an Alsatian noble line, as the shield indicates on the door of the cellar. Although changes altered its original appearance (including the removal of the turret around 1935), it remains a representative example of the easy urban habitat in Alsace between Renaissance and modern times. Its historic address, formerly the Grande-Rue, highlights its anchoring in the ancient center of Benfeld, now integrated into the heritage of the Great East.

External links