Tilman Riemenschneider und Hof zum Wolfmannszichlein

Tilman Riemenschneider und Hof zum Wolfmannszichlein stands in Würzburg as a historic building with medieval origins. Its original structure, including the vaulted cellar, dates from the thirteenth century. The house later became the home and workshop of sculptor Tilman Riemenschneider, who died here in 1531. His work in wood and stone shaped southern German sculpture, especially through finely balanced forms and striking contrasts of light and shadow.

The original Hof zum Wolfmannszichlein formed a three-winged courtyard before wartime destruction altered the site. The Würzburg bombing of 16 March 1945 destroyed the inner wings, while the cellar and former workshop survived. The remaining facade combines sixteenth-century scribed joints and painted ashlar with eighteenth-century sandstone frames. A shell-limestone memorial plaque, installed in 1965, marks Riemenschneider’s connection with the building.

Riemenschneider also served on Würzburg’s city council and became mayor in 1520 and 1521. His sculptures still appear in the Marienkapelle and Würzburg Cathedral. Look for the surviving stonework and vaulted cellar, where medieval fabric meets the city’s postwar reconstruction.