Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Maison des Rochers de Graufthal consists of three semi-troglodytic houses set in a pink sandstone cliff on the hamlet of Graufthal in Eschbourg (Bas-Rhin). These houses, occupied until 1958, were restored and furnished to evoke their history and local legends. They have been listed as historical monuments since 20 December 1988 and managed by an association dedicated to their preservation. Their architecture combines stone masonry with partial roofs, integrated into the natural cavities of the rock.

According to archaeologists Robert Forrer and Charles Spindler, the first caves were dug in the Middle Ages as attices, before being transformed into precarious dwellings in the 17th century, then into housing houses in the 18th century. A door dated 1760 attests to this period. In the 20th century, three families lived there: Weber, Wagner and Ottermann. Josephine Wagner was the first to leave, followed by the Ottermann sisters, including Catherine, nicknamed Felsekaeth ("Cathy of the Rocks"), the last occupying until her death in 1958.

The excavations of 1899 revealed that the rocky overhangs, originally used as medieval warehouses, were built in dwellings around 1760 by modest populations. The houses, accessible by a courtyard, illustrate an ingenious adaptation to topography, with summary frames and rudimentary partitions. Their abandonment in 1958 marked the end of a centuries-old troglodytic lifestyle, now preserved as a heritage witness.

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