Haus Troistorff

Haus Troistorff is a German townhouse built in 1783 for cloth manufacturer Matthias Peter Wolfgang Troistorff and Magdalena Catharina Böcking, his wife. Its timber frame hides under a pale plaster coat. The clear, symmetrical front takes its cue from the noble townhouses of the day. Seven window axes run evenly across it, with a small balcony at the centre.

A few steps lift the entrance above the street. Two carved figures shoulder the beam over the richly decorated door. Inside, fine carving continues along the staircase and the room doors, so the craft runs through the whole house. In the 1830s a second cloth manufacturer, Johann Arnold Sauerbier, took over the house, which later became the property of the district. The Städteregion Aachen owns the building and maintains it together with a local art and culture association. The house holds exhibitions and seminars, and civil weddings take place in the Tapetenzimmer, a room with fourteen seats and standing space.

Stand close and look up: the wrought-iron balcony railing spells out the couple's initials. They have overlooked the street since the house was new.