Quedlinburg - Maisons à colombage

Quedlinburg\'s Old Town encompasses an area of some 80 hectares, all of which has been listed by UNESCO as a world heritage site. An outstanding example of a European city of medieval origin which has been preserved throughout the centuries, Quedlinburg is distinguished by its exceptional architectural heritage of Romanesque and half-timbered buildings, many of remarkably high quality. Buildings of all styles and epochs make Quedlinburg the perfect place to study the development of half-timbered building techniques and styles throughout the ages.

Quedlinburg was at the heart of the East Franconian Empire at the time of the Saxon dynasty - the rule of the Ottonians. Founder of the Saxon Dynasty was King Henry I., elected by the assembled dukes of the German tribes and crowned in 919. Quedlinburg`s Castle-Hillbecame one ofhis favorite seats of residence. Thus it was here that he was laid to rest after his death in 936. In that same year and on the same hill, his widow Mathilde established a ladies\' convent, endowed by Henry`s successor, Otto I. (the Great), with considerable wealth and political influence. The collegiate church of St. Servatius on a hill above the old town is an architectural masterpiece which also houses a famous collection of church treasures. St. Servatius and the thousand-year-old Wiperti Church in the nearby fields, together with the remains of a Monastery of St. Mary on the neighboring Münzenberg hill still reflect the prestige that Quedlinburg enjoyed as political and cultural metropolis of the German empire at a time when German lands were stillin the process of evolution into what was to become their later political fabric.

The Old Town of Quedlinburg with its 1,200 half-timbered houses from six centuries and its medieval urban profile offer an extraordinary example of a medieval European city. The collegiate church, St. Servatius, with the graves of the first German King Henry I. and his wife Mathilde together with the recently returned church treasures constitute a Romanesque architectural masterwork.

Thanks to the uninterrupted representation of half-timbered buildings throughout the centuries in Quedlinburg, one can follow, as if in a teaching manual, the history of half-timbered construction simply by walking through the town. This uniqueness has led to Quedlinburg having been designated since 1994 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

With a house built in the so-called \"vertical beam” construction style, Quedlinburg offers one of the oldest half-timbered houses in Germany. Characteristic of this style is the continuity of the individual vertical beam from the threshold all the way up to the roof.

Characteristic for the subsequent late Gothic epoch is the construction of multiple levels within a house with each additional floor protruding beyond the one below. In the \"Breiten Straße” Nr. 33, this principle of construction can be seen together with the characteristic stairway frieze ornamental carving above the threshold.

Typical for the \"Lower Saxony” style which developed around the middle of the 16th century are the ornamental motifs of the sun in a triangular field at the foot of the upright beams. The exposed ends of the beams are decorated as well. Geometric forms such as stars, the rosette, and interwoven ribbons are impressively displayed on the houses in the street \"Die Hölle.”
On the \"Gildehaus zur Rose” in the \"Breiten Straße”, one can identify clearly the subsequent Renaissance style in the elaborated carved balustrade planks and blind arcades.

After the Thirty Years’ War, Quedlinburg entered a very active building phase which led to the emergence of the so-called special Quedlinburg style. A particular characteristic of this style is the diamond cut of the end of the horizontal beams. Projecting bays also become popular at this time.

The Baroque era produced a style of multi-storied buildings without any protrusion of the upper floors. The ends of the beams and the juncture of beams disappear behind facade planks. This style is characterized by horizontal lines and roofs with gables and garrets.

The stately house at \"Neuer Weg” Nr. 7 was transformed in accordance with the half-timbered construction style of the Rococo.

From the period of Classicism, one still finds examples of the construction of facades with double vertical beams. With this style, the high period of half-timbered construction comes to an end.

Wordgasse 3, Tel. 03946/3828; Fax 03946/515975

The extensive holdings of the city of Quedlinburg in medieval building substance led to its inclusion in the World Heritage List of the UNESCO. In the relatively undamaged town quarters with their medieval flair beneath the historical castle hill, there remain approximately 1,300 half-timbered houses. Quedlinburg is considered to be the largest half-timbered city left standing in Germany.
The Museum for Half-timbered Architecture, the only one of its sort, is housed in a post construction with vertical uprights (\"Ständerbau”) from the 14th century. The upright beams encircle the body of the house, intact and uninterrupted from their base, or the threshold, all the way up to the roof. Fitted into slots cut through the beams, supports for the division into two floors have been inserted and secured against forces of downward pull and external push with wooden spars along the beams’ exterior.
Inside the museum, the visitor will find information on the history of half-timbered architecture from the 14th to the 19th centuries and on the reconstruction efforts undertaken by the city of Quedlinburg. Models have been constructed to render in a highly visible manner the stylistic evolution of half-timbered architecture.
Copies of the various wood joints and carpenters’ tools can be taken up in the hand, helping the visitor literally to grasp the concepts of half-timbered construction.

Entry prices:
Adults 3, 00 €
Reduced: 2.00 €
Family card: 7, 00 €
Culture Card 8.50 €
(Also entitles the holder to a visit to the Klopstock House and the Castle Museum)

Visiting hours:
April - October: Friday - Wednesday 10:00 - 17:00
(Thursday closed)
November- March: Friday- Wednesday 10:00 - 16:00
(Thursday closed)
The Museum is closed on December 24 and 25 and on January 1.

Tickets: jusque  

1 janvier

Langues