Fachwerkmuseum, Timber frame museum in central Quedlinburg, Germany

The Fachwerkmuseum, housed in the Ständerbau at Wordgasse 3, is a two-story timber-framed house with a footprint of just 48 m². Its six-meter posts run through both floors and are joined to the ceiling beams with wooden pegs secured by two wooden nails. The lower sill rests on a base of rubble stone and sandstone blocks, and the infill panels are filled with willow wickerwork coated in straw-clay plaster.

The building was erected in 1346 and served as a residence for centuries. It became a museum in 1976 dedicated to preserving and teaching timber-frame construction.

The museum displays regional carpentry techniques and building styles that shaped how Quedlinburg's houses look. Visitors see how craftspeople once shaped and joined wood to create sturdy buildings.

The museum occupies a house of only 48 m², so the exhibition rooms are cramped and the upper floor has a room height of 2.10 metres. The entrance is on Wordgasse at its junction with the street Word. After the 1997 arson attack the building was restored together with the neighbouring Wordgasse 2.

The building's original wooden frame still stands, with posts running through both floors and held together by traditional mortise and tenon joints. This handiwork shows how carpenters could bind wood pieces permanently without nails.