Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

The house at 2 rue de la Poterne in Rouffach (High Rhine) is a historic monument registered since 1929. It is distinguished by its hybrid architecture: ground floor and first stone floor, while the second floor, in corbellation, is built of wood. This mixture of materials and styles reflects two distinct construction periods, the 16th century for the lower levels and the 17th century for the upper floor.

The building features remarkable decorative elements, including 2nd floor windows with sculpted chambranles of women's heads and animals, as well as a cornel post decorated with an enraged atlante. An engraved stone of the date 1362 is visible, but its authenticity is contested: it would actually come from a nearby house, former seat of the Elephant Corporation. Restorations carried out in 1957 allowed the original windows to be cleared, although parts of the vaults were replaced.

On the ground floor, a shop opening in the middle of the hanger and a mulled room door testify to its past commercial use. The vestiges of old openings on the 1st floor and recent modifications on the wall-pignon illustrate the transformations that the building has undergone over the centuries. Its inscription in the title of historical monuments specifically covers facades and roofs, highlighting its heritage value in the urban landscape of Rouffach, an Alsatian city marked by its medieval and Renaissance history.

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