The (Grocers' Apartments) are historic buildings on Krayenkamp, near St. Michaelis Church in the Neustadt district of

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, Germany. Formerly homes for widows of members of the Grocers’ Institute (), the 1620 to 1700 built, timber-framed buildings form the last of the 17th century enclosed courtyards of Hamburg. Now occupied by small shops, galleries, restaurants and a museum, the group is arranged along the sides of a narrow

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary ...

, behind two 1700s buildings which front the street.

History and architecture

The oldest houses in the system (Krayenkamp 10/11 – houses a, n and m) are also the oldest surviving residential buildings in central Hamburg. With cantilevered floors and ornamental cut cleats, they were built around 1620 (Rear houses 1615–20; Vorderhaus 1625) as a country house and summerhouse on what were otherwise ornamental and pleasure gardens. Their exposed 17th century ceiling paintings are evidence that the original owners were members of the upper class. At the time, Neustadt had just been included within the fortified ramparts of Hamburg. In 1676 the wealthy and prestigious Grocers’ Institute (; formed in 1375 to offer guild-like protection to merchants), purchased the grounds and erected 20 apartments for the widows of deceased members, to encourage them to vacate their shops in favour of new members. In addition to the rent-free apartments, the widows were given fuel and a modest pension. The buildings have twisted brick chimneys and characteristic wooden racks for drying laundry outside the windows. The institute was dissolved in 1866. Having previously used wells in the courtyard, the homes were finally supplied with mains water in 1900. In 1933, the buildings were made subject to a preservation order, and they survived the

bombing raids Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in total war with the goal of defeating the enemy by destroying its morale, its economic ability to produce and transport materiel to the theatres of military operations, or both. It is a systematica ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

without major damage. From 1972 to 1974, a $1.6 million Deutschmark renovation project was undertaken.Ernst Christian Schütt:''Die Chronik Hamburgs'', Chronik-Verl. 1991

Museum

One of the old apartments is preserved as a museum, a branch of the

Hamburg Museum The Museum for Hamburg History () is a history museum located in the city of Hamburg in northern Germany. The museum was established in 1908 and opened at its current location in 1922, although its parent organization was founded in 1839. The muse ...

. It has been furnished in 1850s style to illustrate the living conditions of the apartments' middle class residents. A set of

balance scales A scale or balance is a device used to measure weight or mass. These are also known as mass scales, weight scales, mass balances, and weight balances. The traditional scale consists of two plates or bowls suspended at equal distances from a ...

and an

ell An ell (from Proto-Germanic *''alinō'', cognate with Latin ''ulna'') is a northwestern European unit of measurement, originally understood as a cubit (the combined length of the forearm and extended hand). The word literally means "arm", and ...

cubit The cubit is an ancient unit of length based on the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. It was primarily associated with the Sumerians, Egyptians, and Israelites. The term ''cubit'' is found in the Bible regarding No ...

-long measuring stick) from the year 1800, the most important instruments of the Kramer are also on display; both feature in the grocers' guild sign.

References

* Reinhold Pabel (1915–2008; Antiquariat Pabel in den Krameramtsstuben): Im Schatten des Michel Das Kramer-Amt in Hamburg und seine Witwen-Wohnungen am Krayenkamp, Christians-Verlag, 1978 (1. Auflage)

External links

{{Commons category, Krameramtsstuben
Museum
Museums in Hamburg Buildings and structures in Hamburg-Mitte Houses completed in 1700 17th century in the Holy Roman Empire Objects in the Museum for Hamburg History Streets in Hamburg 1700 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire