Steinernes Haus

Steinernes Haus stands in Frankfurt am Main’s old town, facing the market between the cathedral and Römerberg. Its medieval frontage rises above the surrounding post-war buildings, while the Frankfurter Kunstverein occupies the building today.

Archaeological excavations uncovered Roman-era construction beneath the massive cellars, including walls, roof tiles and slate slabs. The Braubach once flowed north of the site, alongside the street that still carries its name. Two narrow half-timbered houses occupied the plot before Johann and Gredgen von Melem joined them into one building in 1464. Their courtyard complex later provided rooms for household staff, fair visitors and guests attending coronation celebrations. Bombing almost completely destroyed the building in 1944, but reconstruction during the early 1960s followed the original form closely.

The market outside became a coronation route after Frankfurt gained imperial election status through the Golden Bull in 1356. A surviving detail beneath the building reaches back to an earlier estate, where strong masonry and fragments of roofing preserve the site’s Roman past.