| Speicherstadt | |
|---|---|
 View at night, 2016 | |
 Interactive map of Speicherstadt | |
| General information | |
| Type | warehouse district |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
| Location | Hamburg, Germany |
| Coordinates | 53°32′36″N9°59′31″E / 53.54333°N 9.99194°E /53.54333; 9.99194 |
| Construction started | 1883 |
| Completed | 1927 |
| Opened | 1888 |
| Owner | Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg |
| Dimensions | |
| Other dimensions | 1,500 m × 250 m |
| Technical details | |
| Material | red brick |
| Size | 26 ha (64 acres) |
| Floor area | 630,000 m2 (6,800,000 sq ft) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Carl Johann Christian Zimmermann |
| Engineer | Franz Andreas Meyer |
| Official name | Speicherstadt |
| Type | cultural |
| Criteria | iv |
| Designated | 2015 |
| Part of | Speicherstadt andKontorhaus District withChilehaus |
| Reference no. | 1467 |
| Property | 26.08 ha (64.4 acres) |
| Buffer zone | 56.17 ha (138.8 acres) |
TheSpeicherstadt (German pronunciation:[ˈʃpaɪ̯çɐˌʃtat], literally: 'City ofWarehouses', meaning warehouse district) inHamburg,Germany, is the largest warehouse district in the world where the buildings stand ontimber-pile foundations—oak logs, in this particular case.[1] It is located in theport of Hamburg, in theHafenCity quarter, and was built from 1883 to 1927.
The district was built as afree zone to transfer goods without paying customs. The district and the surrounding area have been under redevelopment for many years as the port industry has evolved. As an exceptional example of Neo-Gothic andmodernist architecture, and for its testimony to the development of international maritime trade, the Speicherstadt was awarded the status ofUNESCOWorld Heritage Site on 5 July 2015, along with theKontorhaus District.[2]
TheSpeicherstadt is located in theport of Hamburg. It is 1.5 km (0.93 mi) long and interlaced by loading canals (Low German:Fleets).
From 1815, the independent and sovereign city of Hamburg was a member of theGerman Confederation – the association of Central European states created by theCongress of Vienna – but not a member of theGerman Customs Union.
Following theAustro-Prussian War which established Prussian hegemony in North Germany, Hamburg was obliged to join theNorth German Federation.[3] However it obtained an opt-out in the form of Article 34 of the North German constitution,[4] which stated that Hamburg and the other Hanseatic cities would remain as free ports outside the Community customs border until they apply for inclusion. Article 34 was carried over into the imperial constitution of 1871, when the south German states joined the federation. However, Hamburg came under great pressure from Berlin to join the Customs Union after 1879, when the latter's external tariff was greatly increased. In 1881 an agreement was signed between the Prussian Finance MinisterKarl Hermann Bitter and the State Secretary of the imperial Treasury, on the one hand, Hamburg's Plenipotentiary Senators Versmann and O'Swald, and the envoy of the Hanseatic states in Berlin, Dr Krüger, on the other. Hamburg wouldjoin the Customs Union with all its territory, except a permanent free port district which the agreement specified. For this district, Article 34 would still apply, thus the freedoms of that district could not be abolished or restricted without Hamburg's approval.[5][6]
In 1883, to clear space for the new port area, the demolition of theKehrwieder andWandrahm area began and more than 20,000 people needed to be relocated. The construction was completed before the start ofWorld War I, managed by theFreihafen-Lagerhaus-Gesellschaft (the predecessor of theHamburger Hafen und Logistik AG), which was also responsible for the subsequent operation.
After the destruction of about half of the buildings inOperation Gomorrah by bombing duringWorld War II, the conservative rebuilding was finished in 1967, while theHanseatic Trade Center now occupies the sites of the completely destroyed structures.[7] In 1991 it was listed as a protected Hamburg heritage site.[8] Since 2008, it has been part of theHafenCity quarter.[9] In an attempt to revitalize the inner city area, theHamburg government initiated the development of theHafenCity area, for example with the construction of theElbe Philharmonic Hall.[10]
The warehouses were built with different support structures, butFranz Andreas Meyer created aNeo-Gothic red-brick outer layer with little towers, alcoves, andglazed terra cotta ornaments. The warehouses are multi-storey buildings with entrances from water and land.[8] One of the oldest warehouses is theKaispeicher B of theInternational Maritime Museum.
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TheSpeicherstadt is a major tourist attraction in Hamburg and is the focus of most of the harbor tours.[11] There are several museums, like theDeutsches Zollmuseum [de] (German Customs Museum),Miniatur Wunderland (a model railway), and theHamburg Dungeon. TheAfghan Museum was also located here, but closed in 2012.[12]
The buildings are also used as warehouses. As of 2005, the companies in[clarification needed] theSpeicherstadt handled one third of the world'soriental rug production,[clarification needed] and other goods including cocoa, coffee, tea, spices, maritime equipment, and electronics.[8]
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