Københavns Hørkræmmerlaug was one of five merchant's guilds in Copenhagen, Denmark. It organized citizens with citizenship (borgerskab) as hørkræmmer, a type of retailer with license to deal in a wide range of specified products.
History
Københavns Hørkræmmerlaug's first royal charter was granted by Frederick IV in 1722.[1]
The hørkræmmer shops were typically located close to the city gates or the city's principal marketplaces.
In 1742, Københavns Hørkræmmerlaug acquired a 20-year monopoly on trade with Iceland. In 1758, it was discontinued due to the guild's harsh treatment of the Icelandic population.[2]
Membership
Citizenship as a hørkrlmmer required that the candidate was 25 years old and had been an apprentice for seven years. The latter requirement did not apply for sons of a hørkræmmer who could become a hørkræmmersvend (trained employee of a hørkræmmer) from the age of 18, provided that they had worked in their father's shop.[1]
Hørkræmmer shops were licensed to deal in a wide range of products. These included flax, hemp, hobs, bar iron, untreated steel, tar, pitch, whale oil, salt, salted meet, salted and cured fish, masonry heaters, coal, Russian leather and whetstones.[1]
