These shop buildings (late 19C) stand in the business and printing district of the city. They are a colossal mass of dark bricks, and see in particular the House of Chile (Chilehaus) that stretches into the sky, the Sprinkenhof, a city within a city, and the warehouses of Speicherstadt. Built in the late 19C for the free zone, they housed precious merchandise such as tobacco, spices, carpets and raw silk over 373 000 m².