Flensburg’s Kaufmannshöfe date from the 18th century, when Danish-ruled Flensburg provided supplies to the Danish West Indies (St Thomas, St Jan and St Croix) in exchange for sugar and rum.
Free town maps from the tourist office mark nearly every Hof (courtyard).
Designed to make it easier to load goods into ships, they typically consisted of a tall warehouse on the harbourside, behind which was a series of low workshops, wrapped around a central courtyard and leading to the merchants' living quarters.
