The German Half-Timbered Houses Route welcomes its visitors to the world of timber-framed buildings. Germany's half-timbered houses come in a wealth of different styles, shapes and colours. People all over the world use timber to build houses, but Germany's heritage of half-timbered buildings - some 2.5 million - is second to none. The German Half-Timbered Houses Route, which came into existence in 1990, is about 2,800 kilometres long and extends from the river Elbe in the north down to Lake Constance in the south. It is divided into nine sections and passes through Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Hessen, Thuringia, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg taking in spa resorts and festival venues, nature reserves and beauty spots.
It links a unique collection of timber-framed buildings unmatched anywhere in the world, either in quality or quantity. Like a string of pearls, one gem follows closely after another with their bold shapes, splendid ornamentation and brightly coloured paintwork. This is a journey through a thousand years of history, and each region has its own recognisable style of construction. The timber frame is a skeleton-like structure which minimises the amount of wood required and consists of supporting beams with non-structural infills of clay or brickwork (nogging) - an extremely ecological, environmentally-friendly and aesthetically pleasing style of building. But the half-timbered building style is not the only attraction along the German Half-Timbered Houses Route. Religious buildings dating from the baroque and Romantic periods, architectural gems of the Weser Renaissance and medieval witches' towers are all essential parts of the overall scene, not forgetting carefully restored monuments, the world's biggest Christmas candle, the original home of bock beer, Germany's most northerly vineyard and the only ivory museum in Germany.
