Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The house at 101 rue du Général-de-Gaulle in Kaysersberg is an emblematic building of the 4th quarter of the 16th century, built in 1592 by blacksmith Michel Herzer, native of Swabia, and his wife, daughter of Samson Offinger. This half-timbered building, with ground floor masonry and corbelled floors, illustrates the Renaissance Alsatian civil architecture. The facade has symbolic sculptures, including head of man and woman on the cornel posts, as well as inscriptions in German denouncing the malice of the wrong languages.

The house was acquired by the town of Kaysersberg in 1907 under the mandate of Mayor Weibel, then completely restored between 1907 and 1908. The works, controversial at the time, allowed to find original elements such as the entrance door in full hanger and a walled bay, transformed into a window. An inscription from 1908, engraved on the back of a window, evokes the criticism of this restoration. The building housed a municipal museum until 1973, before becoming an exhibition gallery.

Ranked a historic monument since 3 June 1932 for its facade and roof, this house is distinguished by its Renaissance and Gothic architectural details, such as the twisted poles of the loggia or carved chambranles. The initials "H O" and a carpenter's emblem, engraved on the support traverse, recall the identity of its first occupants. The sculpted gable gable, added at the beginning of the 20th century, bears witness to subsequent adaptations.

The name of the house is associated with its last private owner, Matthieu Ohnenstetter, before it was purchased by the municipality. The inscriptions in German, like "Distel und Dorn stechen sehr" (the thistle and the thorn sting hard), reflect a desire to resist gossip, a recurring theme in the decors. This heritage, a municipal property, today embodies the social and artisanal history of Kaysersberg, between medieval tradition and renaissant influences.

External links