These groups of buildings in the harbour area of Hamburg are probably the most promising entry on the current German tentative list. The sites are easy to access in the south of the city, both by car and public transport.

I started my visit at the Chilehaus, a marvelous structure that lies at the heart of the Kontorhaus District. It’s a 10-story building that is shaped to fit an irregular area between two streets. Just a touch of Chicago or New York, transferred to northern Europe.

The other early 20th-century office buildings in the Kontorhaus District, such as the Sprinkenhof, are not bad either. They have really massive fronts and are made out of brick.

Speicherstadt, the other part of this TWHS, lies about 1km away. This is the former warehouse district, “the world's largest remaining warehouse complex from the late 19th and early 20th century”. I can’t think of a similar WHS, except for Liverpool which has a very different feel and architectural style though.

Goods like cacao, tea and coffee were stored and handled here in Speicherstadt. All buildings are 7 or 8 stories high, and the warehouses were fitted with lifting gear on the outside. This is still visible. Since the 1980s the area has lost its original use, and the warehouses were taken over by no less than 220 carpet shops (run by Iranians). This is still the most prominent use now, although the carpet trade seems to have slowed down also.

The small Speicherstadt museum has more displays than original objects but tells the background stories on the area’s history well. A lot of the buildings in Speicherstadt were destroyed in WWII – so part of what you see nowadays are reconstructions. It’s a pleasant area to walk in, and stuffed with restaurants, bars and tourist attractions like a musical theatre.