On the occasion of World Heritage Day 2017 I decided to visit my home town’s world heritage site: the Speicherstadt and the Kontorhausviertel. Leaving my office at Gänsemarkt I crossed Jungfernstieg and the Rathausplatz and headed for the Chilehaus. From there I went on into the Speicherstadt and ended up at Landungsbrücken. Had the weather been better I would have hopped onto a harbour ferry to Övelgönne. To me this is a great walk and comes highly recommended if you are ever in the area.

Both the Speicherstadt and the Kontorhausviertel signify a major change in urban planning for Hamburg. The island the Speicherstadt was built on used to be a residential area for poor families working in the harbour. All of them were evicted from the inner city to make room for progress. If you want to see how it looked like before, there is a tiny row of houses near the Michel (Krämergasse) that should give you a bit of an impression.

The Kontorhausviertel buildings, too, are pure office building separating work from living. The development continued over the decades and nowadays the inner city of Hamburg is mostly devoid of people at night, a bit frightening if you ask me.

As such I am not sure the change these buildings heralded was a change for the better. Indeed, if you are in the Speicherstadt you can cross into the neighboring Hafencity and see how city planning has changed. The Hafencity houses both apartments and offices, combining working and living. Historically, the area the Hafencity was constructed on was also part of the Speicherstadt, but this part was destroyed during the war.

Ironically, the Hafencity itself is rather sterile. Turns out that if you only create luxury appartments for well to do singles and couples without kids who use the appartment as an investment or for the occasional visit to city, the neighborhood isn’t all that lively.

How To Visit

The classic way to see the Speicherstadt is the harbour cruise. There are multiple operators offering these. All tours depart from Landungsbrücken and will also take you into the modern port. It may be very touristy, but it’s mandatory if you come to Hamburg for the first time. When you go for a boat, try to get a peek of the boat first. Does it offer nice views? Is it already very crowded? ... Prices, I believe are more or less the same.

The Speicherstadt also boasts a plethora of museums in the old warehouses. The most popular one (and actually the most popular site in Hamburg) is the Miniatur Wunderland. Some nerds set their mind to building toy train landscapes for a living. And miraculously they didn’t go broke after a few months, but struck a nerve. Nowadays you can even explore the site via google street view. Or you have your company throw their Christmas party on site. Have to admit that I skipped on the toy trains and focussed on the drinks.

There is also a spice museum, a customs museum, the Speicherstadt Museum and many more. You also find plenty of opportunities to buy a Persian carpet as the Speicherstadt is one of the largest global trading hubs for these outside Iran. To me though wandering around the Speicherstadt is pleasure enough. If you like a guided tour you can book these at the Speicherstadt Museum.

The Chilehaus as well as the other buildings of the Brinkenhof Viertel are up to this day used as office buildings. It follows that visits are restricted. But you can peek into the staircase of the Chilehaus which is already quite nice. Alternatively, you can do an internship at an insurance company having their offices there. The views I had from up top were spectacular.

Hamburg Hotspot

Hamburg is a transport hub for Northern Germany allowing you to see plenty of world heritage sites as a day trip. To see the Wadden Sea my recommendation would be to jump on an early train to Sylt. The Wadden Sea is on the eastern shore of the island. A Südspitzenwanderung around Hörnum in the South will give you a nice impression. Also try to spend some time in Keitum, the most traditional village in Sylt. If you walk into the Ralph Lauren store you will be in my great grandfathers Friesenhof.

If you want to stay in Hamburg while you visit the Wadden Sea you have to travel to Cuxhaven from where you can walk over to Neuwerk, a small island that for historical reasons is part of the state of Hamburg. Be advised you have to align this with the timings of the tides and of the ferry for the way back.

Lübeck and Wismar can be combined into a single day trip. Wismar to me is the prettier city, Lübeck the more important one in historical context. Bremen is a one hour train ride and easy to do, too. Note that you may have to reserve in advance to get into the town hall. Christianfeld is also within reach if you have your own car or plan well and get up early to catch the train to Padborg.

Several other hotspots are nearby. Berlin can be done in a day trip by train, but it will be hard to do all three sites in a single day. The same applies to the sites in the Harz.

There are also some tentative sites of note. Hamburg itself has the Jewish cemetery (see my review). Check the opening hours before making plans (mostly open for a few hours on the weekend). Northern Schleswig Holstein bodes Haithabu, a Viking trading town. And Mecklenburg Vorpommern has the Schwerin Residence.

Things to Do in Hamburg

Not going to write a guide book here, but... Spend some time on the Elbe and watch the big boats in the port. Walk along the Alster and Jungfernstieg. Enjoy what used to be the 2nd largest city of Denmark in Altona. Take a stroll along the Reeperbahn at night. And at day time for the contrast... And ping me if you need a guide. It will be my pleasure. If I happen to be in.