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16th-Century Alsace house saved from demolition and rebuilt near Strasbourg
A 1554 timber-framed house has been dismantled and moved to a heritage park near Strasbourg after a crowdfunding rescue
A 16th-Century house that was facing demolition has been given a new lease of
life after being dismantled piece by piece and painstakingly rebuilt in a heritage park 150km away.
The traditional, timber-framed house in Buschwiller, Haut-Rhin (Alsace), had been covered in a grey render, concealing its original structure.
“The building had been marked for demolition, when some locals asked for permission to take a few roof tiles off it,” project curator Jean-Claude Kuhn tells The Connexion.
“Through the holes in the roof they saw the most magnificent carved timber framing – clearly of exceptional quality and quite ancient.”
From there, a crowdfunding campaign was launched, raising €25,000 to preserve the timber framing so it could be reconstructed elsewhere.
The house, which is thought to have been abandoned for at least 20 years, has been dated to 1554, making it a rare surviving example of traditional local architecture from the period.
Work to dismantle it began in 2023, with each component carefully marked and recorded before being transported to the Parc de la Maison Alsacienne in Reichstett, near Strasbourg.
There, volunteers and professionals have been meticulously putting the building back together.
“We have maintained the aspect that the house had in the 17th Century – not some of the more recent additions,” says Mr Kuhn.
“The spaces between the timbers are being filled with lime and bricks of the period – but there is still much to do.”
The project is being led by the Parc de la Maison Alsacienne, with support from the Association de sauvegarde de la maison alsacienne (ASMA).
Volunteers have been involved alongside specialist craftspeople, with the work providing an opportunity to learn traditional building techniques.
The reconstruction is expected to take several more years before the building reaches the level of completion of the other houses at the park.
The Reichstett site is an open-air heritage museum dedicated to traditional Alsatian houses, culture and language. Its collection is deliberately limited in size, with the 1554 Buschwiller house expected to be the final addition.
“We plan for it to act as the entry to the museum, with exhibitions on Alsatian language and art. It’s by no means finished yet, but parts are already open to the public,” said Mr Kuhn.
For more information about the project visit maisonalsacienne.fr.
