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Lederergasse
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Lederergasse
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The Lederergasse in the Innstadt begins at St. Gertraud’s church and ends at Severins gate ( Severinstor). Until 1414 it was called Peichter alley, the Peichter tower reminds us of this today.
Different trades usually had their own guilds and lived in certain districts of the city. The German word ‘Lederer’ stands for tanner, and Gasse for alley – so the Lederergasse was the alley in which most of the city’s tanners lived. In 1258 the guild of the tanners received their licence from bishop Otto.
A tanner’s work is to produce leather out of raw animal skins by using different organic and mineral based substances, grease or a combination of both. After treatment the skins then need to be coloured. For this purpose the tanners needed large amounts of bark – especially oak bark - which was stored in a large pile in the Innstadt.
Tanners generally had an excellent income, which is why they where often referred to as "bourgeois kings". They were excellent businessmen and were even involved in international trade. When the Inn river flooded, or during the period when the Inn bridge was out of order, tanner Anton Schneider would shift his shop to the Altstadt. Even up until 1900 tanner Kuchler had a large business in Passau with 30 employees. His baroque restaurant "Zum Elefanten" ( The elephant) at the Kirchplatz, later called "zum Schwarzen Adler" ( The black eagle ), had prominent guests such as King Ludwig I.
| The following saga comes
from J. Lenz: "The three Passau tanners": There is a narraw path that leads from the Severintor to the Neutor in the Mariahilfstraße. A sculpture on a garden wall in this passage shows the heads of three men, who were - according to the saga - three Innstadt tanners who built the city wall. |
Interesting sights to visit in the Lederergasse: St. Gertraud’s Church, Kastell Boiotro, Severinstor, St. Severin Church
Bild:
edited by: Gaby
Küppers
translation: Sebastian Lindemann
(17.8.2004/12.1.2005)
