In the Middle Ages, it was customary in cities to place houses so close to each other that the streets between them turned out to be unusually narrow. Such buildings are still preserved in the historical centers of many European cities. Some streets are really amazing - their width is about half a meter, not every obese person can walk there.
Spreuerhofstrasse
On the German state of Baden-Württemberg there is a small town of Reutlingen, which is home to just over a hundred thousand people. It is not much different from other provincial settlements in Germany: an old center with beautiful houses, a row of neat roofs, ordinary shops and pubs. But one of the streets of this city is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the narrowest: the gap between the houses is only thirty centimeters, expanding downward to fifty centimeters. Nevertheless, this is a full-fledged street - there is a sign next to it with the name Spreierhofstrasse.
Its appearance, contrary to the opinion of foreign tourists, is due only to the architect's mistake - the history of this street does not go back to medieval times.
One of the houses on Spreuerhofstrasse, already quite old, began to tumble towards the passage, making it even narrower and even dangerous. On the one hand, walking along the street has become a risky business for tourists and local residents, on the other, the record has increased even more, so the authorities faced a dilemma - whether to make emergency repairs or not. Until the condition of the house is corrected, the municipality monitors it and does not allow passage along the Spreuerhofstrasse.
Vinarna devil
The second place among the narrowest streets in the world is occupied by Prague's Vinarna devil. This landmark of the Czech capital is located not far from the famous Charles Bridge. The street is very short, just between two houses. Its width is 70 centimeters, only one person can walk on it - only thin and flexible people or children can pass each other. To avoid traffic jams, the Prague authorities have installed traffic lights at both ends of the street, which warn that it is necessary to wait until another person passes along the street.
In Prague, they talk about a case when a fat woman was stuck in this street.
Initially, Vinarna devil's house was conceived as a fire passage - in the past, there were several such lanes in Prague, which in the Middle Ages were supposed to hold back the fire. The rest of the passages have not survived, and the Vinarna devil eventually became an attraction - it was named after a wine restaurant located at a dead end of the street.
Parliamentary street
Parliamentary Street is the third in the list of the narrowest in the world, but the first among those originally conceived as full-fledged narrow streets. It is located in the UK, in Exeter and was formerly called Minor. At its widest point, the passage is 120 centimeters wide, while at the narrowest point it is only about 70 centimeters wide. In addition, it is one of the longest among the narrow streets - it stretches for 50 meters.
