The German Timber-Frame Road is a German tourist route leading from the river Elbe in the north to the Black Forest and Lake Constance in the south. Numerous cities and towns each with examples of the vernacular timber-framed houses traditional to the German states are situated along the road. The total length of the route is nearly 3,000 km (1,864 mi).
The road in its seven regional sections
Smallest House in Wernigerode
Speyrer Zehnthof in Esslingen am Neckar (Kesslerhaus)
Marketplace in Herrenberg
Timber framing and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs. If the structural frame of load-bearing timber is left exposed on the exterior of the building it may be referred to as half-timbered, and in many cases the infill between timbers will be used for decorative effect. The country most known for this kind of architecture is Germany, where timber-framed houses are spread all over the country.
The market square of Dornstetten, Germany, showing an ensemble of half-timbered buildings
Rue du Gros-Horloge in Rouen, France, a city renowned for its half-timbered buildings
Lemgo, Germany, downtown
A "true" or "full" cruck half-timbered building in Weobley, Herefordshire, England: The cruck blades are the tall, curved timbers which extend from near the ground to the ridge.