Markt 4, City palace in Blankenburg, Germany.
Markt 4 is a two-storey half-timbered house built in 1783, standing below Blankenburg Castle in the old town. It has a gable roof and a slightly projecting central risalit; the transom above the entrance door bears the date and the initials J.T.R. and J.C.R. Above the door sits a cartouche with an anchor mason's mark.
The house at Markt 4 was built in 1783 as a half-timbered building, according to the inscription in the transom above the entrance door. That transom carries the initials J.T.R. and J.C. Röbber née W., probably the Blankenburg merchant Johann Tobias Röbber and his wife. The original gables were removed and the dormer altered after 1922; the shopfront was added around 1900.
The supraporte above the door is a cartouche framed by a mason's mark with an anchor, a sign pointing to a merchant owner; the door's skylight inscription names the builder as J.T.R., probably the Blankenburg merchant Johann Tobias Röbber, and his wife J.C. Röbber née W. Inside, original doors with Rococo scrollwork, stucco ceilings and two fireplace niches showing Neptune and Mercury survive.
The house stands below Blankenburg Castle on the old town's Markt, at number 4, and is reached on foot from the market square. The half-timbered facade, the cartouche above the door and the 1783 lintel inscription are visible from the street; the interior is closed while renovation work continues.
Above the entrance door, a cartouche surrounds a mason's mark with an anchor, a detail pointing to the builder's trade as a merchant. The door's skylight inscription gives the year 1783 and the initials J.T.R. and J.C.R. née W., likely the Blankenburg merchant Johann Tobias Röbber and his wife.
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