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Origin and history

The house located at 36 quai des Bateliers in Strasbourg dates from the 2nd half of the 17th century, although some architectural elements, such as carved wooden panels, could go back to the late 16th or early 17th century. This four-storey building (ground floor, three square floors and a top) features a characteristic façade, with a 1st floor in corbellation redone in the 18th century, segmental arch windows, and Renaissance consoles decorated with coats of arms and masks. The more recent roof windows date from the late 19th or early 20th century. Inside, ground soles and carved ravens, wearing the same coats of arms as outside, testify to its rich past.

The house has known several owners and uses over the centuries. In 1587 it belonged to Ambrosius Gilg, member of the Grand Senate of Strasbourg and representative of the tribe of butchers, who rented it to Julius Sopher, responsible for the balance of customs. In the 18th century, it was the property of the castar Caspar Häss (died 1788), and then housed a bakery in 1900, requiring major modifications on the ground floor. Damaged during the 1944 bombings, she lost her back building and her coffers. Ranked a historic monument in 1937, it now retains traces of polychromy and a Renaissance window overlooking the courtyard.

The architecture of the house reflects the urban evolution of Strasbourg. The 18th and 19th century relief plans show its evolution from a drop-on-street to a set of two buildings connected by narrow wings, bordering a quadrangular courtyard. The successive amendments (addition of bakery storefront in 1900, partial reconstruction post-1945) illustrate its adaptation to commercial and residential needs. Blazons and initials (such as PH, WSMV, or MD) engraved on consoles remain partially mysterious, evoking forgotten owners or artisans.

The current ground floor retains a corridor leading to the stairway and the courtyard, where Renaissance elements remain like a moulure chambranle window. The upper floors, made of crepi wood, have contrasting ambiences: the 2nd floor offers a rich sculpted decor (late 16th–early 17th century), while the 3rd, soberer, has a piece of wood with poles and full links. The lucarnes, added later, complete a typical silhouette of the Strasbourg heritage, mixing medieval heritage and modern adaptations.

The house embodies the social history of Strasbourg, linked to corporations (bouchers, boatmen) and commercial activities. Its location on the wharf, close to customs, made it a strategic location for river trade. The damage of 1944 and the later reconstructions erased part of its past, but the preserved elements (blasons, wood strips) make it a valuable testimony of Alsatian civil architecture, between tradition and modernity.

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