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Speicherstadt – The Historical Warehouse District of the City

Hamburg’s Speicherstadt is the most beautiful sight of the Hanseatic City and a “must” to every visitor.

[22 April 2004] — Hamburg’s Speicherstadt – once it was the largest cohesive warehouse ensemble of the world. Today its brick facades count to one of the landmarks of the city. The Speicherstadt comprises an area of approx. 3 hectares (7 acres). A densely populated merchants’ quarter with about 23,000 inhabitants was located at this place till the end of the 19th century. Today 6- to 8-storey warehouses rise up to the sky with a storage area of 330 hectares (815 acres).

The characteristic of the houses is that they were built directly at/in the water. Thus they are accessible in two ways, by land and by water. This was most important to the barges, which could moor at the warehouses to deliver goods. The buildings are pillared by stable posts and bearers from cast iron or oak wood. A weight of 1,800 kg (4,000 lbs) per square metre rests on the lower ones of the six to eight floors. As the Speicherstadt did not belong to the German customs territory (it was a free port) the goods could be delivered and stocked free from duties. The customs duty had not to be paid until the goods were sold and transported out of the free port.

Also even today coffee, tea, cocoa and oriental carpets are stocked in the Speicherstadt – of course delivered by trucks nowadays. But the traditional function of the warehouses decreases more and more. Bit by bit the resident companies leave the Speicherstadt to store their goods in modern warehouses outside.

Following this trend the free trade area around Kehrwiederspitze has been annulled. The area is going to be altered in the next years. A modern part of the city, the so-called Hafen City, with office premises as well as shops, restaurants and residential buildings shall be created in lieu. The construction of the Hanseatic Trade Center at Kehrwiederspitze marked a milestone within this project.

The most impressing way to tour the Speicherstadt is by boat. Launche tours start at »St. Pauli Landungsbrücken several times per day (Speicherstadt can be sailed at high tide only, so better ask the skipper if the district will be part of the tour). Who prefers to explore the district rather on foot can access it via Kornhausbrücke bridge (Inner City – near Zippelhaus) or via Jungfernbrücke. If you go by subway get off at Messberg, at best.