Falkenhaus — Rococo on the Marketplace
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Transcript
The Falkenhaus is famous for its exuberant eighteenth-century stucco façade, a reminder that aristocratic taste did not stop at palace gates. Urban façades were public advertisements for status. The building began as an inn and was remodelled into the Rococo showpiece you see in the eighteenth century.
Like much of central Würzburg, it was severely damaged in 1945 and reconstructed afterward. That matters whenever a historic centre feels visually seamless. Reconstruction is not the same as falsification; it is a choice to restore a particular historical image. The Falkenhaus tells you as much about Würzburg’s postwar priorities as about Rococo fashion.