Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The building Le Gratte-Ciel is a gable angle house located at 14 rue du Général-de-Gaulle in Riquewihr (Haut-Rhin), classified as a historical monument since 1937. Its structure combines two separate houses, dated 1561, assembled under one roof. The ground floor in crepy masonry contrasts with the wooden pan floors, decorated with Gothic motifs (chaise curules, sculpted links) and Renaissance (corbellations, columns). The façade has traces of bonding between the two parts, visible in the shift of the central pole.

The western part, accessible by a door in the middle of the hanger dated 1561, initially housed a cellar and an independent staircase. The eastern part, older, preserves elements like a Renaissance door with shelled pediment, adorned with a staked eagle and an eroded inscription. These two non-communicative spaces suggest a late meeting, perhaps during construction. A sandstone building, adjacent to the north, adds five levels of gantry windows, typical of the 16th-17th centuries.

The architecture mixes Gothic influences (departures of half-timbers, nettles) and Renaissance (frontons, carved chambranles). The windows on the floors, reworked, lost their original salient chambranles during a later creping. The current gate, with a curved fronton, comes from Bergheim and was installed in the 20th century by architect Arnold. Task marks remain on the column and the door in the middle of the ground floor.

This building illustrates the evolution of Alsatian constructive techniques, between medieval tradition (pan of wood) and Renaissance innovations (sculpted decorations, symmetry). His name, Le Gratte-Ciel, evokes his exceptional height for the time, reflecting the prosperity of Riquewihr, a wine town under the influence of the lords of Württemberg and then of the Habsburgs. The 1937 protection concerns facades and roofs, highlighting its heritage interest.

Today, part of the ground floor is dedicated to the tasting and sale of wines, perpetuating the commercial vocation of the place. The floors and attic, which are not accessible, probably retain original architectural elements. The location, between the rue du Général-de-Gaulle and the rue des Écuries-Seigneuriales, recalls its integration into the medieval urban fabric of Riquewihr, classified among the Most Beautiful Villages of France.

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