Friedhelm Struck

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Hornburg is the half-timbered town par excellence. The entire old town with its approximately 400 half-timbered houses forms a unique contiguous historical monument, which is why there are no monument protection plaques on the individual houses. The oldest of the half-timbered buildings is opposite the church tower and dates back to 1508, the youngest is at the local museum and dates back to the 1920s. Our market square is also completely framed by half-timbering. One of our most beautiful buildings is the former town pharmacy with the painted anchor on the door to the roof store. Like many other things that the pious people of Hornburg have painted on their houses or carved into the beams, the anchor is part of Christian symbolism. Corresponding to this often can be read quotes from the Bible or edifying sayings. Just look around! You will find: Many of the houses offer you real words of advice!
Responsible for the decorative design of the facade beams were the so-called "Schnittker", a special kind of wood carver. Their profession mainly correlates to artisan craftwork. So it is clearly to distinguish from the work of the common carpenters, who were responsible for the production of the beams and the stability of the construction. The old craftsmen had developed an admirable mastery in how to build such a half-timbered house. To appreciate their skill in a right way, we have be aware that many of the half-timbered houses in Hornburg have been standing here for an astonishing 400 years or even longer!
First of all, the building site was measured and the appropriate building timber was obtained. Then not every raw beam was brought to the building site piece by piece to be fitted there, but the work was carried out in a much more effective and rational way. There were large meadows on the outskirts of Hornburg that were used as so-called "Zimmerplätze". This means that the respective beams were carpentered there and assigned to one another. Because of having them marked accordingly the craftsmen knew afterwards which beam belonged where. So a kind of large construction kit was created at the carpentry site, which only had to be put together at its destination. Transporting the beams it needed a lot of helping hands and assistance from the neighbourhood, because the streets of the old town were far too narrow to transport the beams with a cart or something similar. Once the beams of the new house were finally in place, the family and helpers could toast and celebrate the topping-out ceremony.