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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

Erstein Tanner House, located at 1 rue du Moulin, is an iconic 18th-century Alsatian craft building. Built in 1704 and possibly redesigned in 1727, it is the oldest of three tanner houses in this historic district. Its almost intact wood panel architecture preserves professional emblems and tanning-related sculptures, such as a tanner bust decorated with CD initials.

The tanning workshops occupied the cellars of these houses, with direct access to the rivers, essential for the treatment of skins. The house has two engraved dates (1704 and 1727) accompanied by tanners' emblems, as well as an inscription on a wooden panel and a sandstone slab. These evidences demonstrate the economic importance of this activity in Erstein, where leather work structured part of local life.

Classified as a historical monument by order of 25 February 1998, the protection concerns its facades, its roof, and its wood-pan structure. The house is part of a rare architectural and artisanal heritage, reflecting the construction techniques and traditional crafts of Alsace in the 18th century. Its state of conservation makes it a valuable testimony, although its exact location is considered fair (note 5/10) by available sources.

The tanners district of Erstein, now partially preserved, included houses and workshops dedicated to this corporation. The house on 1 rue du Moulin, with its carved decorations and inscriptions, illustrates the social status of its occupants and their integration into the urban fabric. The initial CDs on the cornice pole could identify an influential tanner or owner, but their identity remains undocumented in the sources.

Available data (Wikipedia, Monumentum) highlight its role in the List of historical monuments of the Lower Rhine, while noting the lack of information on its current access (visit, rental, or residential use). The house remains a marker of Alsatian industrial heritage, linked to water and leather trades, today protected but little studied in its social or economic details.

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