Colourful facades, crooked gables, wooden beams, golden inscriptions, ornaments and carvings: some half-timbered houses are true works of art and shape entire villages and Old Towns with their charm.

Tübingen: youthful flair in old alleyways

Ein Stadtplatz in Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, zeigt Menschen, die am Abend an Tischen im Freien sitzen. Der Platz ist von Fachwerkhäusern mit beleuchteten Fenstern umgeben. In der Mitte steht ein Zierbrunnen. Zwei Fahrräder sind in der Nähe auf dem Kopfsteinpflaster abgestellt. Tübingen: Marketplace in the evening ©DZT (Francesco Carovillano)

Tübingen on the Neckar is one of Germany’s youngest cities. The reason for this: almost a third of the population are students, the majority of whom attend the ‘Eberhard Karls University’ – which in turn is not young at all, as it is one of the oldest universities in Europe with a history spanning more than 540 years. Many colourful buildings in the Old Town also span several centuries. One of the most popular photo spots is probably the four-storey town hall built in the Renaissance style: colourful sgraffito paintings on the outer façade, above it the ornate astronomical clock, in front of it the Neptune fountain on the market square. This is lined with a row of pretty half-timbered houses, more of which can be found in the alleys around it, including the large convent near the moat and the 800-year-old Stiefelhof. Wandering between here, Hohentübingen Palace and the banks of the Neckar, you'll have to climb quite a few metres in altitude. But as we all know, that keeps you young!

Quedlinburg: half-timber champion, world heritage site, living museum

Timber framing houses Quedlinburg old town, Germany Timber framing houses Quedlinburg old town, Germany ©iStock (mije_shots)

The former royal palace and Hanseatic city on the north-eastern edge of the Harz Mountains looks back on over 1,000 years of history. So the gems in the Stiftskirche's cathedral treasury quite literally reflect the splendour of the Ottonian imperial household. But the greatest treasure of this small town in Saxony-Anhalt is the more than 2,000 well-preserved half-timbered buildings constructed from the 14th to 19th centuries. You won't find a higher number of half-timbered houses in such a small area anywhere else in Germany! The old town panorama from the collegiate church of St Servatius on the castle hill provides a good overview – as does a stroll through the cobbled streets afterwards. It is like wandering through a living museum: houses crowd up against each other, sometimes the cantilevers on the façades almost touching. Vines entwine on the old walls that house small shops and cafés. It may sound chintzy, but it's true.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber: The Middle Ages Without Compromise

The iconic Plönlein with the yellow half-timbered house, surrounded by charming cobbled streets and historic towers in the background Siebersturm on the Plönlein ©DZT (Francesco Carovillano)

Behind the city walls, crowned by 46 towers, wind a network of narrow, winding streets – framed by pastel-coloured half-timbered houses, adorned with flower boxes and brass plaques. The small town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Middle Franconia lies on a hill above the Tauber Valley and is internationally regarded as the epitome of a medieval German town, and rightly so: its historic town centre remained virtually untouched despite the war damage of 1945 and careful reconstruction. The town’s landmark is the Plönlein – a crooked, yellow half-timbered house at the entrance to the Spitalviertel, flanked by two old town towers. The fact that it served as the model for Pinocchio’s birthplace in Walt Disney’s film says a lot. Anyone who strolls along the walkable city walls and lets their gaze wander over the towers and pointed gables will understand why millions of visitors from all over the world make their way to Rothenburg every year.

Marburg: Half-timbered houses, the castle and student life

Historic market square in Marburg with half-timbered houses and the town hall in the background Old town with town hall ©Shutterstock (Sina Ettmer Photography)

Marburg’s old town climbs over 100 metres in altitude up to the Landgrave’s Castle – a climb well worth the effort. Amidst half-timbered houses with projecting upper storeys and more than 700 buildings spanning several centuries, a unique atmosphere unfolds, bringing the medieval character to life even today. Around the market square with its late-Gothic town hall and in streets such as ‘Wettergasse’ or ‘Barfüßerstraße’, you can experience this special atmosphere at first hand. And amidst all this historical heritage, ‘Philipps University’ brings the present to life: cafés, bookshops and pubs fill the old town with life and invite you to linger.

Celle: clusters of half-timbered houses

In der Zöllnerstraße in Celle reihen sich traditionelle Fachwerkhäuser mit roten Ziegeldächern aneinander. Bäume mit grünen Blättern säumen die Straße, und in Abständen stehen schwarze Laternen am Wegesrand. Die Szene wurde unter einem klaren blauen Himmel aufgenommen. Celle: Zöllnerstraße with half-timbered houses ©Fotostudio Loeper (Ulrich Loeper)

Like pearls on a string, the Lower Saxony Celle, nicknamed "southern gateway to the Lüneburg Heath", has half-timbered houses lined up along the streets of the Old Town. There are more than 500 of them, most of which have been extensively restored and are protected as historic monuments, which together form a cohesive townscape and one of the largest coherent half-timbered collections in the world. Houses which are particularly historic still have a passage through to the courtyard, where the farmers of Celle once brought in their harvest. Many of these medieval buildings are home to shops, cafés and restaurants, so you can admire the architectural gems - including the especially beautiful Hoppener Haus from 1532, decorated with mythical creatures, and the Alte Lateinschule in the delightful Kalandgasse - not only from the outside, but also step inside. Visitors can and should also visit the nearby French Garden and, even more so, the Renaissance and Baroque style Celle Castle.

Esslingen am Neckar: Germany’s oldest half-timbered buildings

A picturesque half-timbered house with a restaurant terrace by the water, colorful flowers in the foreground and the town church of St. Dionys in the background Neckar with St. Dionys Church ©DZT (Francesco Carovillano)

Anyone looking for the origins of German half-timbered architecture will find them in Esslingen am Neckar. More than 200 half-timbered houses dating from the 13th to the 16th century characterise the old town and lend it an extraordinary, almost fairy-tale atmosphere. Time and again, little discoveries open up between the narrow streets – from Germany’s oldest half-timbered house, built around 1262 and now over 750 years old, to the historic rows of houses on the Hafenmarkt. In between, the Neckar canals wind their way through the town, and vines still grow on the surrounding slopes to this day. The best way to enjoy this interplay is to relax with a glass of wine in one of the rustic wine taverns.

Monschau: The Pearl of the Eifel

Monschau on the Rur in the Eifel Monschau ©AdobeStock (finke)

Nestled amongst wooded slopes, traversed by the River Rur and overlooked by a medieval castle: Monschau in the Northern Eifel is one of Germany’s best-preserved half-timbered towns – not through reconstruction, but thanks to a stroke of good fortune. Wars and major fires spared the old town, meaning that more than 300 listed half-timbered houses from the 17th and 18th centuries remain in their original state to this day. The narrow, cobbled streets, small bridges over the Rur and the slate-covered roofs lend the townscape a sense of unity that is unrivalled in the Eifel. At its heart lies the Rotes Haus, a magnificent patrician house dating from 1760 with an original, self-supporting spiral staircase made of oak – a testament to the wealth of Monschau’s cloth merchants. Those who walk the Panoramaweg trail above the town can enjoy one of the finest views of a medieval town centre in the whole of North Rhine-Westphalia from the Kierberg.

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