Several fires in the 16th and 17th centuries almost completely destroyed Schwerin's medieval city center. A small half-timbered house from that time has nevertheless been preserved. The Kommodenhäuschen is a favorite photo spot.
If houses could speak, the small half-timbered house in Schweriner Buschstraße 15 would have many stories to tell. The clearly visible yearly number 1698 on the front betrays at least when the house was built. However, as it came to his name "Kommodenhäuschen" (roughly translating to commode's cottage) remains a secret. Some think it is called like that, because it is so small that only one commode would fit in. Others will find that the house reminds of the the form of a chest of drawers.
In fact, its construction is very unusual compared to the other buildings around. In Schwerin you can not find any other half-timbered house whose upper floor extends a good 1 meter above the ground floor so that people who pass the small street have to duck their head. Such a protrusion on the one hand created more space for on the upper floor. On the other hand, it is also possible to save on taxes, which were calculated in former times according to the size of the house at street level.
There was a wine-shop located in the house until 1857. The carved sculpture of a man symbolizes the spirits of wine. Later an art-shop was established. This tradition continues the Zettler family to this day, one member of the family was even Hofdrechslermeister of the Mecklenburg's Duke Friedrich Franz II.
