The Krameramtsstuben (Grocers' Apartments) are historic buildings on Krayenkamp, near St. Michaelis Church in the Neustadt district, at the time just included within the fortified ramparts of Hamburg. Formerly homes for widows of members of the Grocers’ Institute (Krameramtswohnungen), 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, behind two 1700s buildings which front the street. With cantilevered floors and ornamental cut cleats, they were built as a country house and summerhouse on what were otherwise ornamental and pleasure gardens.
The Grocers’ Institute erected these 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. They survived the bombing raids of WWII without major damage.
About the stamps
The first stamp is part of the series German lighthouses, about which I wrote here. The last two stamps belong to the set Blumen, about which I wrote here.
References
Krameramtsstuben - Wikipedia
Sender: Andreas / Zimmi59 (postcrossing) DE-4654939
Sent from Buchholz in der Nordheide (Lower Saxony / Germany), on 25.10.2015
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