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25-529: Since 5 July 2015, parts of the Kontorhaus district and the adjacent Speicherstadt district have been UNESCO World Heritage Sites . Since the 17th century, the area has been densely built-up; the result was a so-called Gängeviertel ( "corridor quarter" ) with many narrow alleys. The density of the buildings increased even more when there was a housing shortage after the Hamburg fire in 1842 . In 1892,

50-540: A rococo portal, which was integrated into a new building by Arthur Viol in 1885–1888; and the police station at Klingberg, which directly adjoins the Chile House. New buildings such as the "Danske Hus" and the "Neue Dovenhof", which were built in the 1990s, follow the style of the existing clinker brick buildings. Most of the buildings in the Kontohausviertel are listed buildings . At the 39th meeting of

75-401: A cholera epidemic broke out and the poor hygienic conditions in the neighbourhood caused the disease to spread dramatically – it was then decided to redevelop the area. As a result, many inhabitants were resettled. Fritz Schumacher , who had been Director of Construction and Head of Building Construction since 1909 prevailed in the replanning of the site; the increasing space requirements of

100-855: A large element of German immigrants. Bergen's kontor is on the UNESCO list of the World Cultural Heritage sites. The Hanseatic Warehouse in King's Lynn in Norfolk , actually a factory instead of a kontor, England survives, but was converted into offices in 1971. The word "kontor" spread via the Hanseatic League. The word kontor continues to mean "office" in the Scandinavian languages and in Estonian , as well as in

125-712: A merchant's corporation ( universitas mercatorum ) and served to facilitate the Hanseatic League 's trade. They had their own treasury, seal, code of rules, legal power to enforce rules on residents and administration. They were usually also merchant enclaves; the Kontor of Bruges was an exception. Security was the primary reason for the formation of kontors, but kontors also played an important role in inspecting trade goods and diplomacy with local and regional authorities. Each kontor had its own unique kind of administration, although there were clear similarities between

150-400: Is that it changed to 2 in the first half of the 15th century, and that after a change in 1476 two aldermen held the post alternately. Another view is that Bryggen had one alderman from the 15th century. The Peterhof had one. Alderman usually held their position for a term of a year. All resident and visiting Hanseatic traders fell under the authority of the kontor's administration. At

175-698: The Peterhof in Novgorod the office of alderman was replaced by the hofknecht in the 15th century, after the Livonian towns gained authority over the Peterhof. The hofknecht was an appointee of the Livonian towns who was a permanent resident and could speak Russian. Aldermen were supported by the achteinen or Achtzehnmänner , officials that fulfilled special functions and had the authority to represent

200-465: The street canyons more open at the top, the upper floors are often set back from the main front of the house. Decorative elements on the facade are also made of clinker brick; in addition, elements (often sculptures ) of ceramics were used for the design, most of which have a connection to Hamburg trade and crafts. One of the most famous and architecturally pioneering buildings, the Chilehaus ,

225-569: The "Hubertushaus" office building. Two other buildings, the Altstädter Hof and the Bartholomayhaus were designed by Rudolf Klophaus. The fictitious gable of the Bartholomayhaus, a reminiscence of the old Hanseatic town houses, was already considered obsolete at the time of its construction. The sandstone sculptures at the Altstädter Hof were also designed by Richard Kuöhl, who also designed the larger-than-life Hermes sculpture at

250-624: The Hanseatic League), with a degree of legal autonomy. Most kontors were also enclaves. They were located, in London (the Steelyard ), Bruges ( Kontor of Bruges , later moved to Antwerp ), Bergen ( Bryggen ), and Novgorod ( Peterhof ). Smaller Hanseatic trading posts were called factorien , i.e., factories . The kontors were established as corporations or guilds of senior merchants from trade guilds. The main reason to found them

275-673: The UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Bonn on 5 July 2015, the Kontorhausviertel and the Speicherstadt were added to the list of World Heritage Sites. Kontor A kontor (also Kontor ) ( English: / k ɒ n ˈ t ɔːr / ) was a major foreign trading post of the Hanseatic League . Kontors were legal entities established in a foreign city (ie. a city that did not belong to

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300-586: The authority of the kontor leadership, trade, taxes, duties, rights and contact with natives and outsiders. Most kontor buildings have not survived, only Bergen's kontor , known as Bryggen in Norway , and the Oosterlingenhuis in Bruges have survived until the present day. The Hanseatic kontor at Bryggen was closed in 1754 and replaced by a "Norwegian kontor", run by Norwegian citizens, but still with

325-428: The average outpost. The typical Hanseatic outpost, also called factory, had a representative merchant and a warehouse ; many did not operate all year. These are not considered kontors in the literature but popular discussions are often confused. Kontor is Middle Low German . It comes from French comptoir , from Latin computāre "calculate, compute". The kontors were legal entities established as

350-587: The company Dobbertin & Co. and the Reederei Komrowski was built according to the plans of the architects Distel und Grubitz. The Montanhof is characterised by the typical – and in this case repeatedly – recessed upper floors. The facade of the clinker brick building is decorated with numerous Art Deco decorations. Hans and Oskar Gerson designed another building in the quarter, the Meßberghof. In cooperation with Fritz Wischer, Max Bach built

375-546: The kontor when needed. They usually numbered eighteen, but in Bruges their number was later lowered to nine. The kontors of Bruges, London and Bergen got a new secretarial position in the middle of the 15th century, the clerk. A clerk had gone to university to study law and was highly literate in Latin and in difficult legal literature. His duties were to provide the aldermen with legal advice and to manage correspondence. The clerk

400-430: The kontors. Aldermen ( oldermenn , hovetlude or procuratores ) formed the internal legal authority and a representative to the rest of the Hanseatic League and to local authorities. The numbers of aldermen varied. The kontor of Bruges had first six and later three aldermen, and the Steelyard had one Hanseatic alderman and one English alderman. It is assumed that Bryggen had 6 aldermen at first. One view about Bryggen

425-533: The main entrance of the "Mohlenhof", one of the few office buildings that survived the Second World War almost unscathed. Several publishers were based in the Pressehaus ( press house ), today Helmut-Schmidt -Haus – another work by Klophaus. Two formative buildings were already built before Schumacher's redesign of the quarter: the house at Schopenstehl 32 , a house originally built in 1780 with

450-636: The mid 14th century the League subordinated all trading posts including the Kontors to the Diet's decisions, and the kontors' envoys also received the right to attend and speak at Diets but they lacked voting power. Kontors had their own code of regulations each, applied in. The statutes were written in Middle Low German and recited to the trader community once a year. They regulated matters like

475-650: The northwestern parts of Germany (where the word Büro is the common name) that used to be Danish, all the way to Altona , once built next to the rich Hansestadt Hamburg as the Danish trading competitor, while kantoor is used in Dutch . Probably from Dutch, and quite possibly thanks to Peter the Great , the word, as конто́ра ( kontora ), is also one term for "office" or "bureau" in Russian and Ukrainian , though

500-463: The up-and-coming Hamburg merchants were to be met with the construction of large Kontorhouses, although a partial use as living space was also initially envisaged. The Burchardplatz forms the centre of the complex planned by Schumacher. The buildings were mainly made of reinforced concrete skeleton construction. The new buildings were to be individually designed. Characteristic features are clinker brick facades and copper roofs . In order to make

525-605: Was an attractive and influential position that could be held for several years. The clerks increased the kontor's professionalisation. In Novgorod a priest performed secretarial duties. He was appointed alternately by one of two Hanseatic cities. The kontors in London and Bruges were reformed into Drittel (thirds) in the 14th century, where the trader community was divided into three thirds based on geographic origin for administrative representation and finances. The thirds were organised differently in London and Bruges. In

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550-447: Was built between 1927 and 1943 according to designs by architects Hans and Oskar Gerson and Fritz Höger. The building enclosing three inner courtyards was Hamburg's largest office complex at the time. The Sprinkenhof was one of the buildings whose design originally included apartments, but which were ultimately not realized. The decorative elements on the facade were designed by Ludwig Kunstmann. Between 1924 and 1926 an office building for

575-423: Was built in 1921/22 for the trading company Miramar. The design came from the architect Max Bach. In addition to hints of clinker brick expressionism, one of the most outstanding stylistic elements is the rounded corner of the house. Also well known are the sculptures by Richard Kuöhl in the entrance area, which represent the most important professional branches of the flourishing Hamburg economy. The Sprinkenhof

600-480: Was designed by the architect Fritz Höger and built between 1922 and 1924. It owes its name to its owner, the shipowner Henry B. Sloman , who owed his fortune to trade with Chile - saltpeter . The building is considered the main work of the architect and one of the most important buildings of clinker brick expressionism. The Miramar-House , the first completed building of the Kontorhaus District,

625-587: Was security. The Peterhof in Novgorod was founded first, in the early 13th century, the kontor of Bruges and Bryggen in Bergen were founded last. They were subordinated to the decisions of the Hansetag (Hanseatic diet) in the mid 14th century. In addition to the kontore , there were less important trading posts. The vitten at the Scanian herring fairs were not as important as the kontors but more significant than

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