From the Tiers
Older Than Nations: Houses Past Their 250th Year
July 18, 2026 · 1 min read · ORBIS Editorial
Some shops have outlived the countries that chartered them. Buying from a house in its fourth century is the closest retail comes to time travel.
“Age alone earns nothing in this atlas — these houses remain excellent, which is the point.”
Article references
From the Atlas
- Pintér Galéria Falk Miksa u. 10, 1055 Budapest, Hungary / Budapest / Hungary
20000-square-foot antiques gallery on Falk Miksa (Antiques Street); 1500 sqm / 16 rooms of paintings, furniture and objects, walk-in hours published. store page → · open in the atlas → - Hirado Tsutaya Hirado, Nagasaki
Founded in 1502 and calling itself the oldest confectioner in Kyushu, Hirado Tsutaya has made Casdous, castella dipped in egg yolk and simmered in sugar syrup, since Portuguese traders brought sugar to the port and once supplied the ruling Matsuura family. The Kihikida-cho shop also makes gobo-mochi, a burdock-imprinted rice cracker, from its Hirado kitchens. store page → · open in the atlas → - Kenbishi Sake Brewing Higashinada-ku (Mikage)
Kenbishi traces its brewing lineage to before 1505, making it one of Japan's oldest continuously used sake brands, and has worked from Higashinada-ku's Mikage district for generations. The brewery rebuilt its wooden kura after the 1995 earthquake and still sells its flagship Kuromatsu Kenbishi through its own site. store page → · open in the atlas → - Goldsmithing Matayoshi Naha
A Naha goldsmith workshop in Shuri practicing kuganizeiku, Okinawa's Ryukyu-era metalwork tradition dating to a 1509 craft mission to China; now run by seventh-generation master Kenjiro Matayoshi, making traditional ji-fā hairpins and cord ornaments. store page → · open in the atlas → - Tack Shop of Lexington Lexington, Kentucky, USA
The Tack Shop of Lexington sells English riding equipment out of Griffin Gate Plaza at 1510 Newtown Pike, stocking saddles, bridles and apparel from brands such as Equiline, GPA, Pessoa and Samshield for the region's dressage, jumping and eventing riders. The shop also takes used saddles on consignment and offers clipper sharpening and repair for barns across Lexington horse country. store page → · open in the atlas → - König von Flandern Maximilianstraße, Altstadt
On Maximilianstraße, this Augsburg pub brewery brews its own Drei-Heller beers to the 1516 Purity Law. A seasonal Bavarian menu accompanies the house beer. store page → · open in the atlas →