This guided city tour was a bit special. Of course I also learned something about the city, e.g. the big fire, which destroyed a third of the houses of Hamburg and resulted in a completed rebuilt of the affected areas. But the main topic of this tour was to show the “Kontorhäuser”, houses of the merchants. Typically those buildings where built by red/violet stones and named after their builder. Some of the merchants also built multiple houses, so the second or third house got a name like “Chile” or “Africa” House.
The buildings are not only very nice from the exterior, but also the staircases are a piece of art and not just a functional tool. In some of the buildings, using a special permit, there are even paternosters still in operation.
