The Skyscraper of Riquewihr in Alsace

When you walk in Riquewihr streets, and especially where most shops are, you don't look up. I would not have noticed this building if I had not seen the sign saying Le Gratte-Ciel (the Skyscraper).

Le Gratte-Ciel is a half-timbered house; that is very common in Alsace. But it is also a five-storey house, and this means it is one of the highest half-timbered house of the region. When you know it has been built during the 16th century, you understand it deserves special attention.

I don't know why this building is so high. Was the owner a rich man and/or a man with a big family? Or was it a building for merchants ? Anyway, it must have been difficult, expensive and long to get such a high house.

Le Gratte-Ciel is one of the numerous houses to look at and discover in Alsace. Each one has got something unusual, special, which makes you want to know more about it.