In 1388, the "curia sutorum sive cerdonum" (court of the shoemakers or tanners) is mentioned several times in mortgage documents for local properties. As entries in the suburban Erbbuch (hereditary register), begun in 1385, show, this Schusterhof (Shoemakers' Court) already stood at the site of the cul-de-sac by the Vorstädtischer Graben (Suburban Moat) that still bears the name today.

The Latin designation "curia sutorum sive cerdonum" suggests that shoemakers and tanners -- between whom frequent disputes over the boundaries of their respective privileges persisted in later years -- originally formed a single guild. One of the properties still belonged to the Right City's Kalkhof (lime yard) until 1385.

History