Tour around the Fischmarkt - Part 3

image author: Uwe Albrecht

The Fischmarkt has been called a market since the 14th-century, but it was determined mostly by harbour business. Hawker's goods, butter, eggs, fish, vegetable and other provisions were marketed here.
There has been a crane already since the 14th-century. But it was renewed again and again and then destroyed through a city fire in 1659. The wooden crane newly constructed in 1661, was pulled down in 1898 as it had become useless. Only in 1977 was the old crane in the course of old town redevelopment reconstructed, but only the outer body without the interior. A small harbour information centre was set-up inside in 1999.

image author: Uwe Albrecht

The wooden tread-crane step, whose winding wheel was operated by a 'crane treader', heaved the goods on land and those were taxed by weight of the neighbouring scales building.
The first scale building was still situated near the Pferdemarkt in the 13th-century, but was then moved to the Fischmarkt in the 14th-century. The still preserved building was created from an extensive renovation in 1753, an unpretentious two-level half-timbered building, only protruding on the narrow side, the wooden eaves distinctive.
Past the scale and crane we follow the corner of the old harbour in the street Wasser Ost.
Noticeable is that Wasser West and Ost are seen as one street, with the odd house numbers given to the west side the and the even ones to the east side.
Due to its location below the castle the street was also named as 'sub castro', 'sub urbe' or 'under der Borch'. Even though there are no eye-catching buildings there are still lots of half-timbered houses from the 17th-century and early 18th-century.