The oldest half-timbered house in Germany

Description

The house at Webergasse 8, built in 1266/67, is the oldest surviving half-timbered house in Germany. It may hold this record permanently, because houses built as post and beam structures were built up to this time. The supporting posts were dug into the earth and rotted after 30 to 50 years at ground level, so that one cannot expect to find half-timbering before 1200. It was only in the second half of the 13th century, after the supporting posts were no longer dug into the ground, but placed as posts on stones or wall bases, that the houses could stand for centuries.