House Hecht

Width at front: Hecht c. 3.41 metres

Width at front of two rear buildings: c. 4.40 metres

The Hecht was built in 1552 by Samuel Gelhäuser. By 1640 the two rear buildings Barbe and Pfirsich had been added. Samuel's descendants lived mostly in the Hecht. They took the house name as their family name. Up to six families lived at one time in the houses. Some of these seem to have been very wealthy. They lived by dealing in silver, by moneylending and banking, and by dealing in cloth and clothing. In the great fires in the Judengasse in 1711, 1721 and 1796 the house was destroyed three times. It was rebuilt after the first two fires, but after the 1796 fire it was decided to redevelop the entire northern end of the Judengasse on spacious lines, in the course of which the house disappeared finally.