The Half-timbered Buildings of Braunschweig

"Half-Timbered Architecture in Braunschweig."

Today I bought this little book, which I'd been eyeing  since last year.  It gives the locations of the most interesting half-timbered buildings in Braunschweig, and also details of the construction and the names given to all the individual designs and decorations.   The detail on the house pictured left, was originally built in 1552 and stood at Sack 5, but when severly damaged in the last war, was reconstructed, as many buildings were,  and now stands in Burgplatz 2a, opposite the Cathedral.   I will have to translate the information, and hope to add more detail from time to time.   

The photos below show old Braunschweig, a city that before the last war, had around 2000 half timbered  houses in this style, and the largest concentration of timber constructed buildings in Germany.  The photo shows houses in the Martini Quarter.  The fact that they are so many storeys high, makes them  so interesting.  The tallest half-timbered house I have visited in England is the "High House" in Stafford.  Built in 1559 it is the last remaining, tallest, timbered Tudor house in England.

Houses in the Martini Quarter.

I mentioned in a previous blog that the city was so crammed with buildings, that there were problems constructing the tramways because the houses overhung, and the bends were very tight.  The photo below gives you some idea of how close together the houses were, and how it was possible to lean out of the window and touch the roof of a passing tram.

Road or tramway construction in Suedklint.