Travel back in time to the 17th century: This Grocers Guild Widows’ House, located in a narrow alleyway close to the Michel, feels just like a dolls-house, but is certainly very homely and cosy. Here, where tourists enjoy looking into Hamburg’s history today, was a home for grocers’ widows for almost 200 years.
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.
On today’s view this were very poor facilities but according to the circumstances at this time it was a quite comfortable and progressive arrangement.
Monday 10 am – 5 pm
Closed on Tuesday
Wednesday – Friday 10 am – 5 pm
Saturday and Sunday 10 am – 6 pm
Friday to Monday 10 am – 5 pm
Closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. The Kramer Widow’s Apartment is open from 10 am – 5 pm on all other public holidays.
2,50 € for individual visitors
1,70 € students (aged up to 30), apprentices/trainees, the unemployed, social security recipients, people with disabilities, FSJ
Free admission for children and young people under 18, members of the press, carers accompanying a disabled visitor, members of the Deutscher Museumsbund, members of the foundation council and the board of trustees of Historic Museums Hamburg Foundation, board members and foundation council members of the state museums, ICOM, BVGD, members of the Friends of Historic Museums Hamburg Foundation, members of the Verein für Hamburgische Geschichte, BBK, Verband Deutscher Kunsthistoriker.
Kramer-Witwen-Wohnung
Stiftung Historische Museen Hamburg
Krayenkamp 10
20459 Hamburg
Tel. 040 375 019 88
info@mhg.shmh.de