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Origin and history

The building at 66, rue du Général-de-Gaulle in Kaysersberg is a U-plan building built in 1521 for the patrician Reinhard Wid, rich owner of silver mines in Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines. Married in 1518 to Maria Burckhart, daughter of Benoît Burckhart and Lucie Krus, Wid became bourgeois of Kaysersberg by this alliance. The shields of the Wid, Burckhart and Krus families, as well as the date of 1521, adorn the slab above the entrance passage (n°62) and the door on the courtyard side (n°66). The building, divided into three buildings (62, 64, 66), reflects a distinct social organization: the main house (66) was reserved for the housekeeper, while Building 64, carrying the wife's weapons, probably housed women and children.

The North House Corps (66) was transformed into an Au Pied de Boeuf hotel in 1708 by Hans Michel Seyfer, who modified certain coats of arms, including the Burckhart, to affix his initials and the date of 1715. Between 1815 and 1818, the building served as a barracks for Austrian soldiers, before becoming the Lion Gold Hotel, still in operation today in Building 66. The other parts (62-64) now house the Kaysersberg Museum and the premises of the Wine Growers Association. Ranked a historical monument in 1985 for its facades, roofs and a Renaissance fireplace dated 1523, the building was restored in 1966, restored to its original state despite the loss of some bays on the ground floor.

The architecture of the building is distinguished by its two twin gables on the street, its helical silt staircase turrets (64 and 66), and its early Renaissance elements, such as monumental sandstone chimneys adorned with dogives and roses. Building 66, the most spacious, retains a sandstone slab ceiling in the turret, while Body 64 houses an old washbasin and a common well with Building 62. The latter, without basement, has carved bench windows, including a rosette adorned. The ensemble illustrates the fascist of the Alsatian patriarchs at the beginning of the sixteenth century, mixing late Gothic influences and Renaissance decorations.

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