The tannery quarter sits just west of the main historic centre, and the contrast with the grander merchant houses around the square is striking. These are working buildings — practical, low-ceilinged, built for the smell and mess of leather production. The complex has been carefully restored and now houses craft workshops and studios.
It is a good place to wander if you want to see a side of old Køge that is not about civic pride. The surrounding streets — Vestergade and the lanes running off it — have some of the quieter and more characterful architecture in town. Less visited than Kirkestræde, and all the better for it.