17th-century residence
Langenstraße was mentioned for the first time as “longa platea” in 1234. This means it numbers among the oldest streets in Bremen. Beginning in the 19th century, more and more of the tasteful residences made way for the offices of Bremen merchants. Many houses in Langenstraße were destroyed during World War II, but then meticulously rebuilt in the postwar period.The conspicuous gabled building from the 16th century with its Renaissance façade is the former weighhouse (Stadtwaage). The site where the Günter Grass Foundation is headquartered today and changing exhibitions display documents from the Grass archive is also where primarily merchants took advantage of the opportunity of determining reliable weights on scales of different sizes up to 1877. For horse-drawn carriages there was a weighing area on the street that
could be used for a fee.The most conspicuous new element in recent decades is the rebuilt Kontorhaus at the marketplace. The mall it now houses contains an exquisite mixture of highquality retailers, service trade and gastronomy.