A "Warren Quarter" in Hamburg (c. 1900)

Akin to a rabbit's warren, a so-called warren quarter [Gängeviertel] was comprised of tall houses and alleyways so narrow that only foot traffic could be accommodated. The "warren quarters" in Hamburg were among the worst in all of Germany. Gängeviertel were usually working-class neighborhoods and were often breeding grounds for disease. Many were destroyed after the cholera outbreak of 1892, although the quarter shown in this photograph by Paul Wutcke survived into the twentieth century.

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© Bildarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz