Behrendt department store

The department store Behrendt was opened in 1886 by the tradesman Adolph Behrendt in the center of Jena. After Behrendt initially had his business at Markt 16 with his trade license for a trade in white and plaster goods, he acquired the house Markt 17 in 1889/90 and laid the foundation for the establishment of Jena's first department store by expanding the business assortment with manufactures. While at the beginning mainly jewelry and lingerie were sold, around the turn of the century also men's and women's clothing as well as household and kitchen appliances, carpets and gift items were added to the assortment.

The Behrendt department store also expanded in area as a result of its popularity among the population and its economic success. Thus, on November 17, 1910, the reopening of the department store, now extending over two floors, took place. After Adolph's death in 1913, his sons Arthur and Hans continued to run the Behrendt department store on the market in the complex with Oberlauengasse 3.

Although the 50th anniversary of the business could still be celebrated at the beginning of 1937, it came to the forced sale to the merchant Kurt Hepprich (85000 RM) in the same year, as the pressure after the boycott of Jewish businesses on April 1, 1933 became greater and greater. During the November pogrom in 1938, the department store was not spared from the SA squads who smashed the shop windows of the closed Jewish stores, as it was feared that Hepprich had only been a "straw man" of the Behrendts.

The following year, the house was destroyed by a major fire and had to be demolished as a ruin ten years later.