Germany

Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District

WHS Score 3.02
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1.0

  • Don Irwin
  • Szucs Tamas

2.0

  • Alessandro Votta
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  • Jh9223
  • Kristin
  • Lucio Gorla
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2.5

  • Adrian Turtschi
  • Assif
  • Dorejd
  • Els Slots
  • Federico P.
  • Hubert
  • Jon Opol
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3.0

  • Allan Berry
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  • Aspasia
  • Csaba Nováczky
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3.5

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  • FK
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4.0

  • Caspar Dechmann
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4.5

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5.0

  • George Gdanski
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The Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District with Chilehaus represent the warehouse-office district of the port city of Hamburg.

The warehouses and offices, together with their connecting network of streets, canals and bridges, date from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The iconic Chilehaus, a ten-story office building, is an exceptional example of the 1920s Modernist architecture (in the Brick Expressionism style) that defines this district.

Community Perspective: Nan has provided a local perspective, while Assif shares some insights on its architectural history. The Chilehaus is considered the area’s highlight.

Site Info

Official Information
Full Name
The Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District with Chilehaus (ID: 1467)
Country
Germany
Status
Inscribed 2015 Site history
History of Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District
2015: Inscribed
Inscribed
WHS Type
Cultural
Criteria
  • iv
Links
UNESCO
whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org
Related Resources
News Article
  • July 3, 2021 mopo.de — Kontorhaus to be car free in 2024
  • Nov. 15, 2018 welt.de — Speicherstadt renovation puts barges to a halt
  • Sept. 16, 2018 welt.de — The Unesco seal is becoming a curse for Hamburg

Community Information

  • Community Category
  • Archaeological site: Ancient Rome
  • Archaeological site: Byzantine
  • Urban landscape: Post-medieval European
Travel Information
Recent Connections
View all (23) .
Connections of Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District
Geography
  • Elbe Basin
    Elbe
  • North Sea
    " Speicherstadt - You can travel the narrow canals in small barges to savour the architectural details if the tide is right." (Hamburg-travel.com)
Trivia
History
Ecology
  • Saltpeter
    Chilehaus was built for Henry Brarens Sloman (1848-1931). He made his fortune in Chile in Saltpeter mining. On returning to Hamburg he commissioned the "Chilehaus" naming it after the source of his wealth
Architecture
  • Early Modernism
    "Anchored by the iconic Chilehaus, the Kontorhaus district's massive office buildings stand out for their early Modernist brick-clad architecture and their unity of function." (Official description)
  • Expressionist architecture
    Kontorhaus District: The streetscape is characterised by large office buildings in the style of Brick Expressionism of the early 20th century. (wiki)
  • Modern Urban Planning
    "Anchored by the Modernist Chilehaus office complex, the Kontorhaus district attests to architectural and city-planning concepts that emerged in the early 20th century." (AB)
  • Brick architecture
    "Chilehaus, Messberghof, Sprinkenhof, Mohlenhof, Montanhof, and Miramar-Haus –.... stand out for their unity of function and their Modernist brick-clad architecture." (AB)
Damaged
  • Damaged in World War II
    "About half of the Speicherstadt was damaged or destroyed during the Second World War. Warehouse blocks A, B, C, J, K, M, and the eastern part of block O were almost completely destroyed. No attempt was made to rebuild blocks A, B, C, and J (in their place, outside the nominated property, is the modern Hanseatic Trade Center). Only the façade of block M was saved. The damage to blocks D, E, and L was less extensive. Architect Werner Kallmorgen oversaw reconstruction of Speicherstadt in the 1950s and 1960s. Some damaged buildings were rebuilt – with varying empathy for the original designs – while others were replaced with modern buildings. The most recent construction (2003-2004) was a multi-storey car park that has the same general dimensions as block O, on whose site it stands." (AB)
World Heritage Process
Human Activity
  • Sea Ports
    The Speicherstadt district is centrally located in the Port of Hamburg. (nom file)
  • Spice Route
    "Traditionally, coffee and tea, cocoa, dried fruit, nuts, spices and other such precious delicacies were the most important goods stored in the Speicherstadt." (nom file), Hamburg has a modern spice museum in the Speicherstadt telling the story

    See www.hamburg.com

Constructions
  • Notable Bridges
    Brooksbrücke - truss arch bridge

    See structurae.net

  • Canals
    "Speicherstadt, the “city of warehouses,” includes....... a connecting network of canals and bridges" (AB)
Timeline
  • Built in the 19th Century
    Speicherstadt: "Originally developed between 1885 and 1927 (partly rebuilt 1949-1967)" and "The nominated portion of the adjacent Kontorhaus district is a cohesive, densely built 5.13-ha area featuring six very large office complexes begun in the 1920s" (AB)
WHS Hotspots
News
mopo.de 07/03/2021
Kontorhaus to be car free in 2024
welt.de 11/15/2018
Speicherstadt renovation puts barg…
welt.de 09/16/2018
The Unesco seal is becoming a cur…
Recent Visitors
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Visitors of Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District
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Community Reviews

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First published: 23/08/19.

Jakob Frenzel

Speicherstadt And Kontorhaus District

Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District (Inscribed)

Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District by Jakob Frenzel

Although my uncle is living in Hamburg and I had been several times, I only visited the Speicherstadt and nearby Kontorhouse distric in July 2019 and March 2016.

It is quite interesting that the whole district has been closed for public a few decades ago and a big fence went around it. As Hamburg in no Freihafen anylonger, this beautiful distric can be enjoyed by everyone and recently the marvelous Elbphilarmony was added.

There is quite a lot of tourist things to do: Hamburg Dungen, The miniature railway museum, coffee roastery etc. etc. or you just stroll arond like we did both times. The district lack authenticity, since a lot of stuff was rebuild or put in between. However, the Chilehouse makes the WHS that remarkable. It is probably the best expressionst architecture I have seen so far, at least in Europe. Nice, nice!

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First published: 30/04/17.

Nan

Speicherstadt And Kontorhaus District By Nan

Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District (Inscribed)

Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District by Nan

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 …

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First published: 10/02/17.

Tom Livesey

Speicherstadt And Kontorhaus District

Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District (Inscribed)

Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District by Tom Livesey

It looks like I am the first reviewer to have visit this site since it was inscribed and I can report that I didn't spy a UNESCO logo or information board anywhere (though that doesn't mean there isn't one). I spent a night in Hamburg in January 2017 and stayed in a waterfront hotel in the inscribed area.

The warehouses, which display a definite coherence of style, stand testament to the development of large-scale international trade in the wake of the Industrial Revolution.

My overall impression was of a pleasant enough place but not a terribly exciting World Heritage Site compared with others. Of the 105 I have so far visited it is most similar to Liverpool.

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First published: 19/10/15.

Assif

Speicherstadt And Kontorhaus District

Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District (Inscribed)

Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District by Els Slots

Both parts of the nomination, the Speicherstadt and the Kontorhausviertel, are easily covered by foot and can be visited in a short few hours. I started my tour with the two most emblematic buildings of the Kontrohausviertel: Chilehaus, which used to be an independent candidate for a WHS, and the neighbouring Sprinkerhof. In fact, the entire district is small and can easily be covered. In fact, it is difficult to spend a lot of time at the Kontorhausviertel because it still fills its original function as a business district. All buildings are occupied by offices and unfortunately you cannot get into most of the buildings. I did manage to get into the Chilehaus to discover a doorway reminiscent of the Bauhaus architecture. It greatly reminded me of the Bauhaus University in Weimar. All buildings in the district are made of the typical red bricks and many are covered with traditional marine motives. Both of these trait link the modern architecture to Hamburg's past. Despite being modern for their time and architecturally impressive I did not find the buildings very appealing.

The nearby Speicherstadt was largely destroyed in WWII so most of what we can visit now is a post-war reconstruction. You can read about it in a trail with explanatory plaques going through the complex. Only the central blocks were reconstructed apart from the oldest one which is outside the core zone and now houses the Maritime Museum. Similar to the Kontorhausviertel, the Speicherstadt preserved its original function, albeit …

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First published: 15/11/14.

Hubert

Speicherstadt And Kontorhaus District

Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District (Inscribed)

Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District by Hubert

I have visited Hamburg several times and a stroll through the Speicherstadt and the Kontorhaus district was always a must. The Chilehaus is an iconic building of Brick Expressionism, an architectural style particularly prevalent in the north of Germany and in the Ruhr area. The view from the east to the sharp tip and the curved façade along the Pumpen street are amazing. Despite the size, it is an elegant building, reminiscent of a palace. The Chilehaus is still used as an office building, so best to visit on a weekday when the staircases are accessible. Stairs, floors and other interior details have been preserved in the style of the 1920s. But until now there are no guided tours. The other houses of the Kontorhaus district (Kontorhaus is an old German word for office building) are less spectacular but still worth seeing, the proposed area includes also the Sprinkenhof, Mohlenhof and Messberghof buildings.

Just a stone's throw away is the Speicherstadt (photo), older than the Chilehaus and different in style, but no less outstanding. The warehouses are also built of brick, it's fun to explore the details of the façades, the small towers and gables with winches. Originally the warehouses were built for the trading of coffee, tea and spices, today they are mainly used by carpet traders, but there are also museums and other tourist attractions. You can get an impression of the interior when visiting the Speicherstadt Museum or the Spice Museum. After dark the Speicherstadt gets a …

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First published: 11/10/14.

Clyde

Speicherstadt And Kontorhaus District

Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District (Inscribed)

Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District by Clyde

I visited these sites in Hamburg in October 2014. They are truly unique and in my humble opinion deserve inscription as they truly possess OUV. The best way to visit the Speicherstadt is by going on a harbour cruise. The red brick wharfs and metal winches of the Speicherstadt are HUGE and are just a pleasant stroll away from the Chilehaus. The Chilehaus is a true architectural gem and just opposite is a modern glass/metal replica building. It really is reminiscent of New York not Europe! Nearby is the Chocoversum, a chocolate house and museum worth visiting not only for the information provided!

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First published: 28/04/13.

Els Slots

Speicherstadt And Kontorhaus District

Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District (Inscribed)

Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District by Els Slots

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.

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