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We arrived at Hauptkirche Sankt Michaelis a bit too early before their opening time, luckily for me, Michiel is very good in finding nearby places to explore. We ended up visiting the Kramer-Witwen-Wohnung (Grocer Widow's apartment) museum.
Partial and edited quote from their web site:
shmh.de/en/kramer-widows-apartment
"The „Krameramt“ was the Guild of the Shopkeepers, whose statutes date back to 1375. They had their permanent stalls or shops in the city and traded mainly in spices, silk and iron wares.
In 1676 the wealthy guild built these houses to provide room for the widows of its members. The guild’s aim was to re-accommodate the widows and hence to vacate premises for new members in the shops. A plaque on the wall facing the land gives the date of construction as 1676 and indicates that the houses were a charitable foundation.
The living area of each widow is divided in two storeys. There is a small living-room with a kitchen on the ground floor. The upper floor consists of a living-room with sewing table and a sleeping accommodation. On the top floor is a drying loft with a clotheshorse attached to the outside of the window facing the lane. Furthermore, the loft was needed for the supply with wood and carbon. Water pipes were not installed until the end of the 19th century. In the previous time they used two water pumps.
By today's standard this apartment appears tiny, with minimal space and amenities but according to the circumstances at this time it was a quite comfortable and progressive arrangement.
Clock
We arrived at Hauptkirche Sankt Michaelis a bit too early before their opening time, luckily for me, Michiel is very good in finding nearby places to explore. We ended up visiting the Kramer-Witwen-Wohnung (Grocer Widow's apartment) museum.
Partial and edited quote from their web site:
shmh.de/en/kramer-widows-apartment
"The „Krameramt“ was the Guild of the Shopkeepers, whose statutes date back to 1375. They had their permanent stalls or shops in the city and traded mainly in spices, silk and iron wares.
In 1676 the wealthy guild built these houses to provide room for the widows of its members. The guild’s aim was to re-accommodate the widows and hence to vacate premises for new members in the shops. A plaque on the wall facing the land gives the date of construction as 1676 and indicates that the houses were a charitable foundation.
The living area of each widow is divided in two storeys. There is a small living-room with a kitchen on the ground floor. The upper floor consists of a living-room with sewing table and a sleeping accommodation. On the top floor is a drying loft with a clotheshorse attached to the outside of the window facing the lane. Furthermore, the loft was needed for the supply with wood and carbon. Water pipes were not installed until the end of the 19th century. In the previous time they used two water pumps.
By today's standard this apartment appears tiny, with minimal space and amenities but according to the circumstances at this time it was a quite comfortable and progressive arrangement.