Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The hotel of Andlau, located at 8 rue Docteur-Stoltz in Andlau (Bas-Rhin), is a Renaissance building built between 1582 and 1583 by one of the four sons of Frédéric d'Andlau, as evidenced by the dates engraved on the lintel of the staircase turret and a wooden strip of the first floor. Known under various names (Stammhaus, Red House, The Castle), it embodies the architectural heritage of the Counts of Andlau-Birseck, the noble Alsatian family. Its facades, which have been listed as historical monuments since 1939, are distinguished by volute gables, a polygonal turret and painted decorations on the windows.

The building, made of local sandstone, combines stone ground floor and wood-paned floors (spin/spicy), with thick walls up to 1.07 m. He changed owners over the centuries: the family of Andlau-Birseck (1582–77), the Kollmann (1777–1901), and then the painter Marie Charles Rouge (1901–1916), who gave him his nickname Maison Rouge. After 1948, he passed into private hands before being acquired by the city of Andlau in 2005. Since 2013, it has hosted the Seigneurie's workshops, a heritage interpretation centre.

Archaeological excavations (2008–2012) revealed 16th century objects in two latrines pits, testifying to the daily life of the Alsatian aristocracy: ceramic dishes (1,937 fragments), glasses (6,000 fragments), textiles, kitchen tools, and organic remains (bovine, poultry, fish). Among the remarkable pieces are a skillet tile, a unique tison, and stamped merchant leads. These discoveries, exposed on the spot, shed light on the domestic practices, food and hygiene of the time.

The hotel's architecture reflects the social status of its occupants: adorned high gables, staircase with screws in a hexagonal turret, and richly carved door. Materials (stones, stoneware, bricks) and techniques (woodpans, mortar) illustrate local know-how. The building, a symbol of the power of the Counts of Andlau, survived the historical upheavals, including the French Revolution, during which its coats of arms were staked.

Today, the hotel of Andlau plays a major cultural role in the Greater East. Its interpretive centre highlights the results of the excavations and the history of the seigneury, providing a light on the Alsatian Renaissance. Ranked for its facades, there remains a rare example of preserved aristocratic hotel, linked to the wine and political history of the region.

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