Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The house at 31 rue du Général-de-Gaulle in Rosheim is an emblematic building of the Alsatian heritage, built in the 4th quarter of the 16th century. This building, now classified as a historical monument, is distinguished by its stone ground floor and its decorative wooden floor, typical of Renaissance civil architecture in Alsace. Three engraved dates – 1580, 1604 and 1605 – as well as a baker's shield and initials (HI, WN) attest to its history related to local craftsmanship. The adjoining well, dated 1566, suggests an earlier occupation of the site.

Originally, this building housed a bakery, as evidenced by the symbols engraved on its façade. The inscription for historical monuments in 1930 specifically concerns facades and roofs overlooking Rue des Violettes and the inner courtyard. The structure combines defensive elements (cut stone triangle chains) and carved decorations, reflecting the prosperity of the bourgeois and artisans of Rosheim at the end of the 16th century.

The house also illustrates the urban transformations of Rosheim, a former imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire. Its address has evolved over the centuries (formerly Main Street), and its current state of conservation allows us to study the techniques of wood-pan construction and the organization of commercial and domestic spaces in modern times. The initials engraved (HI, WN) may correspond to owners or artisans, but their precise identity remains undocumented in available sources.

The 1930 classification underlines the heritage value of this building, representative of the mixture of late Gothic and Renaissance styles in Alsace. Although the archives do not specify sponsors, the presence of multiple dates suggests several decades of construction or renovation. Today, the house contributes to the attractiveness of the historic centre of Rosheim, alongside other listed monuments of the Lower Rhine.

External links