House Goldener Engel

Width at front: c. 3.3 metres
The Goldener Engel was built between 1540 and 1550 by Israel Auerbach when the plot of the neighbouring Schwarzer Bär was subdivided. In 1598 the house was divided crosswise into a front building called the Wetterhahn and a rear building called the Engel. Both houses were destroyed in the fire of 1711 and subsequently rebuilt. The new houses, however, were divided lengthwise, so that the Engel and Wetterhahn now stood side by side. The occupants of the Goldener Engel were members of the Worms family and were descended from Hayum von Friedberg from the Schwarzer Bär. They were also named Engel after their house, the Engel, and Auerbach after a period of residence in Auerbach an der Bergstraße. The founder of the family, Israel Auerbach zum Engel, was frequently mentioned in records from 1550-1575, according to the Frankfurt historian Alexander Dietz. Israel ran a moneylending business in the county of Hanau and was also active in the surrounding area. In 1561 he was heavily fined because he had insulted the wealthy Samuel zur Krone, the founder of the Kann und Stern families, during an argument.
At the end of the 17th century a family dealing in hides lived in the house with a manservant and a maid. Several years later the house was occupied by a community "master builder" and his family together with his son and daughter-in-law. In 1883 the city took over the house for demolition.