Kaak

The most visitors of Luebeck are standing in front of the Kaak without any idea what this building used to be. Is it an old or a new building? The concrete pillars give the hint that it is from industrial age, but the superstructure looks like it was built in the medieval age. What shows this building to us? The answer: This building is the Luebeck pillory. It was built at the 15th century and was used to punish citizens, e.g. business people who had cheated on the market. For example, if somebody tried to sell rancid butter and was caught, he (or she) was tied at hand and foot and the bad butter was placed on top of the person’s head where it melted. Later on after its original purpose of the Kaak was abandoned it was used as a depository. In the 20th century the kaak was used as a tourist agency. The Kaak survived the Second World War without any damage, but the esthetic sensation in the fifties was the doom of this bulding. 1952 the people decided that the Kaak looks not good enough and so it was (avulsed) pulled down on the spot. Fortunately, the building authorities could rescue some of the original stones. In 1986 when the taste turns for the benefit of the Kaak, it was rebuilt in 1986 by apprentices of carpentry and sacral builders.