Committed to tradition (CP 2/2009)

Historic façade refurbishment in Rothenburg o.d.T.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber is without a doubt one of the most famous German tourist attractions. The outstandingly well preserved medieval old town center, defined by magnificent half-timbered buildings, its intricate web of narrow streets and lanes and small squares is world famous and is regarded as the prototype of a German town.

Medieval half-timber: Restored with RELIUS paints and coatings

Thanks to its unadulterated historic townscape, Rothenburg has often provided a perfect backdrop for films, e.g. for the filming of the tragic and mysterious life of the foundling Kaspar Hauser.

Whenever a building has to be refurbished in this history-steeped environment, this understandably presents an important task that demands the highest degree of responsibility. Only real experts will do for this job.

Therefore, when confronted with such demanding projects, the monument protection authority and the master builder of Rothenburg are regular members in any team of experts. This was also the case for the latest, successfully completed, façade refurbishment of a hotel building in the old town center.

Patrician splendor

Even in medieval times, the Herrngasse thoroughfare was the center of the Free Imperial City of Rothenburg. All the houses were occupied by patricians, the influential and wealthy citizens of the town.

Today, four of these former patrician houses form the Hotel Eisenhut, a five-star hotel regarded as the “best of its kind on the square”.

These beautifully preserved buildings from the 16th century have been carefully adapted inside to meet the modern-day requirements of a first-class hotel, without detracting from the authentic historic atmosphere. The hotel’s international guests can experience an exciting trip back in time to the Germany of the Middle Ages.

One of the historic façades, however, was no longer in keeping with the overall image of a first-class, ritzy hotel.

The task of performing the necessary maintenance to the elaborately decorated half-timbered house dating back to the year 1599 was awarded to the long-standing RELIUS customer Hans-Jürgen Hülse from the neighboring town of Neusitz.

This master painter has a wealth of experience in refurbishing half-timbered buildings and can produce an impressive reference list in this specialty field.

RELIUS paints recommended

An assessment of the initial situation provided a real surprise for the preservationists.  It was not just the color that far from complied with historic evidence, but also the acrylic paints used in previous refurbishments would no longer simply be used today in the preservation of historic buildings.

Faced with this initial situation, it was no longer possible to use the method generally preferred by preservationists, i.e. silicate paint, which is highly permeable.

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	An eye for detail: Half-timber style, gold--plated coats of arms and Gothic calligraphy – Hotel Eisenhut retrieves the glory of the past into the present day.

Instead of this, master painter Hans-Jürgen Hülse recommended Silcosan F1 from RELIUS, which he had already used with successful results.

Silcosan F1 is a silicon resin paint that is highly “compatible” with the old paint coating and it also has two additional benefits: it is considerably more permeable than pure acrylic paints and, thanks to its innovative formula, is universally pigmentable, even in difficult intense yellow and orange shades.

This allowed the historic color scheme to be restored true to the original version. The timber framing itself was painted with A-Z Color from RELIUS, a water-based acrylic paint that is also water-vapor permeable.

The historic wall paintings have become real eye-catchers; an expert painter of coats of arms was specially commissioned for their reconstruction.

Master painter Hans-Jürgen Hülse and RELIUS technical adviser Willi Carstensen are rightly proud of the result achieved in this refurbishment project.

Even the Arvena Hotel Group as the building owner, plus the town master builder Hans Mühleck and the supervisory monument protection authority are impressed with the new appearance of this historic building. The famous historic townscape of Rothenburg has been enriched with a further attraction.

www.eisenhut.com
www.relius.de