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Key figures

Origin and history

The house at 20 Grand-Rue in Ammerschwihr is a gable-on-street building, typical of Alsatian architecture, located in retreat with an inner courtyard where once were outbuildings. Its masonry ground floor rests on a partially buried cellar, while the wooden gable has three rows of Saint-André crosses, partially modified by windows. Some features, such as segmental arc lintels, suggest reshuffles in the 18th century or 1858, date engraved with the initials M F on a stone-dangle, probably those of an owner of the era.

The building is distinguished by a small chambranine window kept in the lateral elevation, as well as by a pinion tip covered with boards, which could have housed a loggia. Since May 5, 1931, this house has been listed as a historical monument for its carved window on the ground floor, illustrating the architectural evolution of Alsatian houses between the 17th and 19th centuries. Its access to the court could not be documented, limiting the study of its interior arrangements.

Ammerschwihr, a wine village in Haut-Rhin in Alsace, was at that time marked by a rural and artisanal economy. The half-timbered houses, like this one, served as both a dwelling, a workspace (workshops, wine cellars) and a symbol of social status for wealthy owners. Their gable on the street, often decorated, reflected the local prosperity linked to the wine trade, a major activity of the region since the Middle Ages.

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