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Origin and history

The house at 7 rue du Maréchal-Joffre in Rouffach is a remarkable example of Alsatian Renaissance civil architecture. Built in the last quarter of the 16th century (dated precisely from 1575 by an arched stone), it stands out for its richly decorated gable on street: vertical bandages, volutes, rosaceans and hollow pilasters. The windows on the floor have ground chambranles, while a lifting skylight remains in the roof. A ground fascice door completes this ornamental set.

The building has undergone modifications over the centuries: the openings of the ground floor were re-opened (replaced by windows), and as early as 1911, the windows and the street door were already dating from the 18th-18th century hinge. At the back, the wall-butterwater keeps two old doors in the middle of the hanger, possibly linked to a pantry. Dependence (grange or remission) prolongs the home, although its exact function remains uncertain. The house has been protected as historical monuments since 1929, with an inscription covering its facades and roofs.

The chantoured gable, characteristic of the Alsatian bourgeois houses of the time, is rhythmized by carved elements reflecting the influence of Germanic and Italian models. The summital slab bears not only the date of 1575, but also a housemark and a taskman's mark, testimonies of the Renaissance craft practices. These details, combined with the quality of the movements, suggest an easy sponsor, although his identity remains unknown.

Rouffach, a town located on the Alsace wine route, was home to successful merchants, winemakers and artisans in the 16th century. This type of house, both a place of residence and a place of professional activity, illustrates the economic dynamism of the region under the Old Regime. The sculpted decorations served as much to display a certain richness as to integrate into the urban landscape, where the facades worked competed with ornamentation.

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