“Such good work” (Pabel according to the Hamburg State Archives) was what the members of the Grocers Guild wanted to do when they set out at the end of the 17th century to create a place where needy nuns and widows could be accommodated. Even today, a good 350 years later, the small row of houses on Krayenkamp street below St. Michael’s Church is still characterized by this idea. A small apartment has been set up as a branch of the Museum of Hamburg History, and the restaurant bears the name Krameramtsstuben. But how did this special establishment come about?
The widows of guild members and their daughters (who, unlike in other guilds, could inherit the title of a father after his death, just like their brothers) were to receive help if they were in financial need after the death of the head of the family or needed a new place to live. The guild therefore acquired a property near the newly built St. Michael’s Church, which was considered very practical due to its proximity to the church and two water pumps that could be used.
There were already several buildings on this site, which had probably been erected at the beginning of the 17th century: a semi-detached house, which the guild then rented out, as well as two other buildings. The two smaller houses were chosen as the cornerstones of the new widows’ apartments. Author Reinhold Pabel writes that this was based on the usual form of courtyard design in Hamburg at the time: two rows of houses separated by a relatively narrow corridor were added to a (garden) area behind an existing residential building. Initially, ten half-timbered terraced houses were to be built, in which 10 women could live. After work had already begun, the decision was made to double the space. By extending the attic floors and adding an attic, two people could live in one apartment.
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The small row of houses on Krayenkamp street below St. Michael’s Church. Photo: SHMH / Sinje Hasheider -
The alley opens behind a old wooden gate. Photo: SHMH / Sinje Hasheider -
One of the houses was furnished as a model apartment with furniture from the Biedermeier period. Photo: SHMH / Sinje Hasheider -
There is even a little kitchen on the ground floor. Photo: SHMH / Sinje Hasheider -
The heart of the flat with a bed alcove. Photo: SHMH / Sinje Hasheider
The small residential complex remained in operation until 1866. The guilds were then dissolved, but the Hamburg social welfare authorities continued to house elderly ladies there. In the 1960s, however, the need for renovation became increasingly clear. The sanitary facilities no longer met hygiene requirements, at the time of construction the toilets had been installed under the stairs, for example, and the electronics for the lighting and stove heating were outdated. The last residents moved out in 1969, after which renovation work began and was completed in 1974. Stores, galleries and restaurants moved into the small houses under the auspices of the Office for the Protection of Historical Monuments, all of which brought local color with them. House c was later furnished as a model apartment with furniture from the Biedermeier period. The bridge at the end of the alley was not part of the original appearance, it was added later.
Sources: Reinhold Pabel: Im Schatten des Michel. Das Kramer-Amt in Hamburg und seine Witwen-Wohnungen am Krayenkamp. Hamburg: Hans Christians Verlag, 1978.
Dirk Schubert: Hamburger Wohnquartiere. Ein Stadtführer durch 65 Stadtteile. Berlin: Dietrich Reimer Verlag, 2005.