Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The house located at 78 rue du Général-de-Gaulle in Kaysersberg is an emblematic building built in the 1st quarter of the 17th century, with renovations in the 2nd quarter of the 19th century. It is distinguished by its wood-pan structure, rare in the city, and its north gable in masonry, decorated with angle chains and carved motifs (curves, spheres, shell). An inscription dated 1616 and the wooded coats, including that of the city, are visible there. Originally, this building housed a public butcher shop, as evidenced by a commemorative slab mentioning Johan. Volrhat, inspector of the buildings of the time.

The monument features a wooden panel façade with original ground bays, including a window with a stud and a door bearing a tasker mark. The west facade, partially masked by modern additions, retains a corbelled floor with mesh panels similar to those of the City Hall. The north gable, overlooking the mill canal, is the prestigious façade: entirely in masonry, it has an arch fitted with the 1616 vintage and carved sill windows. The building, divided into three parts since the 19th century, has been redesigned to accommodate shops on the ground floor.

Classified as a historical monument in 1932 (inscription of the gable), this house illustrates the Alsatian civil architecture of the 17th and 19th centuries. His builder, the carpenter Dominique Haescher, worked under the direction of Johann Volrhat, as evidenced by the contracts of 1615. The task marks visible on the windows and doors recall the craft techniques of the time. Despite subsequent changes (modern bays, additions), the building retains Gothic elements, such as allegations decorated with curule chairs, and 19th-century dormant windows for wood storage.

The site is linked to the economic history of Kaysersberg, a former merchant town where public butchers played a central role in everyday life. Its location above the mill canal, between the streets of General-de-Gaulle and Les Bains, highlights its integration into the medieval and pre-industrial urban fabric. Today, this monument offers a rare testimony of Alsatian constructive techniques, mixing wood and adorned masonry, while reflecting the functional evolution of a public building that has become private.

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