Alsfeld built on!Construction of the stand house market 2

The building at Markt 2 is the oldest half-timbered building in Alsfeld. It dates back to 1350, but this is true only for the part directly adjacent to the stone wine house.

The right half of the building dates back to 1403. The back part of the building is the youngest, it was built in 1465 and it does not have a basement.

It is a post-and-beam building, so the long, load-bearing wooden columns run through all the floors. The first floor was constructed as a hall, only the floors above are lower. The hall was probably used for storage or business purposes, while people lived on the upper floors.

The facade facing the town hall protrudes further into the street from floor to floor. The reason for this was not only to create more space, but also to save money.

The reason for this was not only to create more space, but also to save money, because the property tax was calculated on the basis of the size of the property and not on the floor areas. The latter were therefore not subject to tax.

The fact that there must have been a double house here before is proved by two even older vaulted cellars, whose construction is assumed to have taken place at the time of the town’s foundation. CCRH