Architecture of the half-timbered house

The Hornmoldhaus, built in 1535/36, shows the transition from late medieval (“Alemannic”) to early modern (“Franconian”) half-timbered construction.

The basic construction corresponds to a “stilted half-timbered house”, i.e. the first floor was never used for residential purposes and the individual storeys were built on top of each other independently. The load of the entire construction rests on the exterior walls, which were later built in quarry stone, and on the interior on four massive oak pillars, which can be seen free-standing on the first floor. As the paintings show, this area was always a representative entrance hall.

The heavy, outwardly visible frame construction of each floor, consisting of sill, frame and uprights, dates back to the medieval tradition, as do the still small windows “clamped” between the surrounding breast and lintel beams and arranged in pairs around a post (collar post).

The diagonal timbers bracing the truss framework are no longer battened in the medieval manner and anchored with a wooden nail, but are mortised into the vertical (upright) and horizontal (sill/framing) timbers, which gives the framework greater stability.

Wooden parts for decorative purposes alone are now added to the framework, expressing the decorative needs of the Renaissance: St. Andrew's crosses in straight or curved form (so-called firebolts) and curved brackets.

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Further information can be found in Günther Bentele's 2022 publication on the Hornmold House.