House to the stone

Home decor in the Middle Ages

Somewhat hidden away in the old town, between late medieval half-timbered houses, classicist and modern residential buildings from the 1970s, lies Mainz's oldest residential building.

Once you have found the house on Stein in the narrow alley, it is best to take a step back: this will give you a view of the three-story building with its limestone walls, slit windows on the ground floor, and original Romanesque arched windows.

This example of early patrician architecture is one of the few surviving medieval residential towers in Germany.

Haus zum Stein at a glance

Facts, figures and data

Historical

The builder of the Haus zum Stein came from the patrician family Judeus de Lapide (Judeus zum Stein), from which the current name is derived. The first written evidence of the building dates back to 1250. It is a document attesting to the displeasure of Archbishop Christian II of Mainz regarding the enlargement of the Haus zum Stein. The expansion into the tallest secular building in the city by Eberhardus de Lapide threatened to diminish the archbishop's prestige.

Nevertheless, construction was not halted, as Eberhardus undertook to leave the building to the cathedral chapter after his death. However, it remained in the possession of the Judeus de Lapide family until the family died out at the end of the Middle Ages. The family made no further changes to the house.

Change of ownership and change of meaning

With the general rise of the bourgeoisie since the second half of the late 14th century, the significance and function of residential towers also changed. Interest now focused more on living comfort, which meant that the importance and prestige of the towers declined. Unfortunately, the current interior layout no longer reflects the original layout. However, the living comfort must have been remarkable.

When the Haus zum Stein passed into the ownership of the St. Albanstift at the beginning of the 16th century, the residential tower had already become more of a residential building. Its exterior was adapted to new ideas and requirements. In addition to a new floor plan, simple rectangular windows now opened up the previously closed ground floor, which significantly reduced the defensive character of the tower.

After the change in significance, the residents also changed more frequently. As a prebendary house belonging to the Albanstift, it was initially inhabited by capitulars and canons, clerics and canons of St. Alban and the cathedral. From the end of the 16th century, Georg Schönborn, Bishop of Worms, administered the building. It was

inhabited by a master carpenter from Mainz. In the mid-17th century, young nuns probably lived on the estate after it became the property of Philipp Schönborn. By the mid-18th century at the latest, but probably as early as 1670, the Haus zum Stein passed into civilian hands and thus became taxable.

Destruction at the end of the 18th century

After it was completely destroyed up to the first floor during the turmoil of the revolution around 1793, the grocer Johann Siegel, the owner at the time, carried out some renovations. A gabled front with slate cladding on the west and south sides and a new third floor defined the appearance of the house until the 1980s.

Reconstruction of the presumed building design

In the 19th century, the property changed hands frequently until 1888, when master turner August Schad purchased the house. His great-grandson, K. Schäfer, managed and financed the designs for a renovation plan. Declared a renovation project by the city in 1972, the Romanesque remains and thus a property of historical interest to the city were discovered in 1974 during structural repair work.

The problem was that, apart from the old Romanesque enclosure walls, only one window on the north wall of the house had been preserved, which could serve as a template for the reconstruction of the original condition.

This is a double-coupled window arcade. There were no findings regarding the original roof shape, so its restoration could only be based on assumptions. This also led to differences of opinion about the nature and scope of the reconstruction.

The social affairs officer, monument conservator, and architect finally agreed on a total reconstruction with a horizontal finish. Due to the high costs, Schäfer had transferred the "heart" of his property to the city's trust fund in 1979. From 1981 to 1983, extensive restoration work was carried out on the presumed 13th-century building design, incorporating the historical substance. The city of Mainz received a special award for this in the 1984 federal competition "Building and Living in Old Environments."