Freudenberg Alter Flecken

This historic quarter in the Siegerland is famous for its rows of nearly identical black-and-white timber-framed houses climbing a hillside in strict alignment. Rebuilt to a uniform plan after a devastating fire in the seventeenth century, the ensemble has become an emblem of German half-timbered architecture. The steep slate roofs and white-plastered panels give the streets a graphic rhythm. A distinctive detail is the viewpoint above the town from which the whole grid of matching gables is seen at once.