Speicherstadt
written by graefin
on April 27th, 2008
(1 vote)
A typical tourist attraction but large enough to be discovered without meeting too many of them. Enter it at the “Kehrwiederspitze” (leave U3 underground line at “Baumwall”) and then explore the old and the new part of this city within the city. Built in the 1880s the old ware- and storehouses were once used to store spices, coffee and other goods because it was too expensive to store those in the city centre. You had to pay taxes for that and the Speicherstadt was built to avoid high taxation. It was also built to get flammable goods out of the centre. Merchants could store their goods in the warehouses and they were either shipped further or sold directly to merchants in the city.
The area where the Speicherstadt is now situated has once been a huge part of the old, Middle-Age town centre. The houses were pulled down although mostly poor people, workmen, harbour workers lived there with their families in very small quarters. They where moved to other parts of the city. It was the largest building site so far seen in Hamburg – and still is today. The “Hafen City” is built as a new part of the city. It is Europe’s largest building site. When you’ve walked through the old Speicherstadt you hardly pass a place where there is no building site. Futuristic and modern architecture will soon meet the old brick stone architecture of the 19th century there.
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