Speicherstadt Hamburg

Hamburg’s Speicherstadt warehouse district is one of the most important sights in the Hanseatic city. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since July 2015. Together with the Kontorhaus district and the Chilehaus, this makes the Speicherstadt Hamburg’s 40th World Heritage Site. Find out everything you need to know about the warehouse complex here.

The Speicherstadt in Hamburg

Hamburg’s Speicherstadt is an entire city of warehouses. At 26 hectares, it is one of the largest warehouse complexes in the world and consists of a network of streets, canals and bridges. The neighboring Kontorhaus district shares the title of UNESCO World Heritage Site with the Speicherstadt. Together, the two districts are an example of the functional merging of department stores and offices. Both urban areas are densely populated.

The Speicherstadt consists of a total of 15 large warehouses. They date from 1885 to 1927 and stand on softwood piles in the water of the Elbe, or more precisely on a collection of narrow islands. These extend over 1.1 kilometers. The red brick buildings are in the historicist style, but contain very advanced technical equipment for their time.

The Kontorhaus district is somewhat younger than the Speicherstadt. It was built between the 1920s and 1950s and is an example of modern architecture. High-quality design and functional construction dominate here. At the beginning of the 20th century, this district was the first purely office district in Europe. Numerous businesses closely associated with the port were and still are located here. Part of the Kontorhaus district is the Chilehaus, designed by Fritz Höger, whose pointed shape is reminiscent of a ship’s bow. The building with its 2,800 windows and 4.8 million bricks is an icon of clinker brick expressionism.

Things to see in the Speicherstadt Hamburg

The Speicherstadt and the Kontorhaus district, including the Chilehaus, are a unique ensemble of maritime warehouses and modern office buildings. They thus represent the consequences of the rapid international growth in trade in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Today, the buildings of Hamburg’s Speicherstadt mainly house leisure facilities. These include the popular Miniatur Wunderland, one of the most visited attractions in the whole of Germany. The Speicherstadt Museum also attracts many visitors. The German Customs Museum, the Hamburg Dungeon, the International Maritime Museum and the Prototype Car Museum are also located here.

In the past, the warehouses were used by so-called quartering companies to store their goods from all over the world. These included fabrics, but also fine foods such as cocoa, coffee, tea and Brazil nuts. In the Speicherstadt coffee roastery, you can taste the specialties of different countries in a former coffee warehouse. The canals that run between the buildings are also popular excursion destinations. Launches and other ships invite you to take a tour from the traditional ship harbor in Sandtorhafen.

The most popular photo motif in the Speicherstadt is the moated castle. This is located at the end of the Holländischer Brook and today serves as a tea shop with restaurants. The building was constructed between 1905 and 1907 and was the only habitable place in the Speicherstadt at the time.

Old meets new

The Speicherstadt Hamburg has been a listed building since 1991. The complex from the late 19th century still impresses today with its historic, neo-Gothic brick architecture. Today, modern building materials such as glass and steel can be found right next to the Speicherstadt. The famous Elbphilharmonie concert hall is also within walking distance. This creates exciting contrasts.

A look at the history of Hamburg’s Speicherstadt warehouse district shows that 1888 was a very important year, as Hamburg was annexed to the German Empire in that year. Accordingly, new storage capacities were needed around the free port. Around 24,000 people had to leave their homes to build the Kontorhäuser. 1,100 houses were demolished. The Speicherstadt was completed by 1927, although blocks Y and Z were not finished. During the Second World War, a large part of the Speicherstadt was destroyed. Reconstruction lasted until 1967.

The old walls and wooden piles on which the Speicherstadt stands are still being repaired. Up to 190 million euros are planned to ensure the long-term preservation of the world cultural heritage site. Problems such as the increasing difference between high and low tides are a cause for concern for planners and architects. Work is planned in the Speicherstadt until 2024. The Zollkanal is to be completely renovated by 2028.

The 40th German UNESCO World Heritage Site

Since July 5, 2015, the Speicherstadt and the adjacent Kontorhaus district, including the Chilehaus, have been part of the 40th German UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to the World Heritage Committee, the ensemble is an outstanding example that “symbolizes one or more significant periods in the history of mankind”. The two monofunctional areas complement each other and therefore have an exceptional universal value. The connecting network of the Speicherstadt warehouse district and the modern brick architecture of the office buildings in the Kontorhausviertel show port-related uses from the 1920s to 1940s.

Before this could happen, however, the Speicherstadt underwent a long decision-making process. The Chilehaus was placed on the German list of proposals for inclusion in the World Heritage List back in 1999. In 2007, the application was extended to include the Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus district. In 2014, the city of Hamburg submitted the application and two years later the UNESCO certificate was officially presented. An on-site World Heritage Information Center is planned.

In total, UNESCO has already designated over 1,000 sites worldwide as World Natural and Cultural Heritage Sites. The first World Heritage Site in Germany was Aachen Cathedral, which received its award in 1978. Other important sites include Cologne Cathedral, Berlin’s Museum Island and Kassel’s Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe. There are several sites in Hamburg, such as the Hamburg Wadden Sea National Park near the island of Neuwerk.

Would you like to find out more about the Elbphilharmonie concert hall in Hamburg’s Speicherstadt district? Read here what we can learn from this controversial building.