Illuminating Hamburg’s port, the Deutsches Hafenmuseum presents the role of ports in the past, present and future. The Hafenmuseum will be incorporated into the project and serve as one of Deutsches Hafenmuseum's two locations.
Two locations
The search for a new location of Deutsches Hafenmuseum (lit. ‘German port museum’) is finally over: the newly-developed Grasbrook neighbourhood is the perfect location for the ambitious museum project. Come 2025, the museum’s collection will be found in two different branches: the first part will be located at the historic 50er Schuppen by the Hansahafen harbour. Currently housing the Hafenmuseum, the exhibits will then become part of the new Deutsches Hafenmuseum. Among other things, a fleet of historic ships and cranes will be exhibited here, forming a kind of technical living museum. The second half of the museum will be housed in a newly-constructed building on the Grasbrook island, southwest of the Elbbrücken bridges.
Under construction: Schuppen 50A
Large parts of the Schuppen 50a shelter will be turned into a depot for the museum’s large-scale exhibits. In order to make the whole collection even more exciting and accessible, the mooring facilities for the museum fleet will be equipped with floodgates, thus making the fleet less susceptible to tides and rough water and the exhibits accessible to all visitors. Currently, the MS Bleichen, a 93 metre-long juggernaut of a freighter, is the museum’s most striking feature. The 60 year-old vessel is fully-operable and doubles as a popular event location.
Welcome back: the Peking
After her return to her birthplace, the four-masted barque Peking will become the flagship of the Deutsches Hafenmuseum. In Hansahafen, the final remodelling of the ship’s interior will be finished before the windjammer will reaches her destination in the Grasbrook area.
A new museum for Hamburg
On 12 Nov 2015, it was decided by the German government that the city of Hamburg would be allocated a total of EUR 120 million for the construction of the German port museum. The opening of the second part of the museum in Grasbrook is scheduled for the mid-2020s.
The port
Unlike Hamburg’s International Maritime Museum, the Deutsches Hafenmuseum will focus specifically on ports rather than the seafaring side of maritime life. Being the third-largest port in Europe, trailing only Rotterdam and Antwerp, Hamburg is a great example of an effectively run port and one of the country’s most important economic driving forces. Having already been offered the Hafenmuseum, it was clear from the start that Hamburg was the perfect location for a national port museum.
Where the past meets the present
The Hamburg port doesn’t only hold tremendous historical significance. For example, topics such as globalization, modern labour and cultural implications of the port are addressed in the exhibits. Interactive port museums in Rotterdam, Liverpool and Helsingborg already give clear impressions of the Hamburg port museum’s potential. It’s time to get excited about the city’s latest addition to a large portfolio of highly-acclaimed museums.
Address:
Australiastraße Schuppen 51a
20457 Hamburg
Getting there:
Bus line 256, exit Australiastraße (Hafenmuseum)
