Altenburger Vierseithöfe, Historic farmstead complex in Altenburg, Germany
The Altenburger Vierseithöfe are farmsteads where four buildings surround a central courtyard and contain residential rooms, stables, and barns. These complexes feature gate entrances with arcades and are found across eastern Thuringia, with structures built from timber-framed construction using distinctive support systems.
These farmsteads developed from single buildings into the current four-sided form starting in the 1600s, with the oldest preserved structure dating from 1565 in Gieba. The transformation into this practical yard layout was a regional peculiarity that spread over several generations.
The farmyards show regional building traditions through their design, with decorative gate entrances where builders' names and construction dates are carved into the wood. Walking through the courtyards, visitors can still see which families worked the land and during which decades their buildings were created.
These farmsteads are scattered across the region and can be viewed from the outside, where the paved courtyards and building arrangements are clearly visible from public areas. Spring and summer offer the best light for seeing the structures and taking photographs of the timber-framing details.
The region has the second-largest concentration of timber-framed buildings in Germany, constructed with distinctive support systems known as Umgebinde. This technique is unique to this part of Germany and demonstrates how builders combined wood into a structural system.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
