A sandstone plaque from 1617 on the house at Weberstraße 1 depicts two orphans in contemporary clothing and in a praying pose. It commemorates the orphanage founded shortly after the Reformation in 1546/1547, which was one of the city's first social institutions.
After a terrible famine following a bitterly cold winter and subsequent food shortages, many people were forced to subsist on tree bark and grass. Diseases spread. Many children lost their parents and were left destitute. The situation was dire not only in Lübeck.
The Lübeck children's welfare institution was initially established on Mühlenstraße. In 1557, it moved to the building of the Michaelis Convent. Legitimate children from the age of eight were admitted, each with two guardians. They were educated there and usually remained until their confirmation. The children wore a costume bearing the cross of the Michaelis Convent.