Aerial photograph, Museum for Hamburg History (1956)Museum für Hamburgische Geschichte, Historische Museen Hamburg
The "Museum für Hamburgische Geschichte" (Museum of Hamburg History) was founded in 1908. The main building was built between 1914 and 1922 by Fritz Schumacher, the great Hamburg architect and municipal planning director. The area around the museum, where the Planten un Blomen park is located on the site of the old city ramparts, was still waste land in 1956.
Museum for Hamburg History (1914/1922)Museum für Hamburgische Geschichte, Historische Museen Hamburg
During construction, the facades were decorated with salvaged architectural fragments from Hamburg merchant's houses and with statues of the German Kaisers from Hamburg's old town hall. Parts of buildings which had been destroyed in the Great Fire of Hamburg in 1842 or during projects such as the construction of the Speicherstadt warehouse district were also used.
Entry of the Museum for Hamburg HistoryMuseum für Hamburgische Geschichte, Historische Museen Hamburg
These architectural fragments were among the first exhibits in the Society of Hamburg History's collection. The society was founded in 1839, and its collection forms the basis of the museum.
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Throughout the museum, historical architectural artifacts are integrated into the museum's construction.
Staircase, Museum for Hamburg HistoryMuseum für Hamburgische Geschichte, Historische Museen Hamburg
The Society's main aim was to promote awareness of Hamburg's history among the population of the Hanseatic city.
Detail of architecture, Museum for Hamburg HistoryMuseum für Hamburgische Geschichte, Historische Museen Hamburg
The organization built up the "Collection of Hamburg Antiquities," which, along with the architectural fragments, also included weapons, armor, flags, uniforms, and guild artifacts.
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Take a walk around the "Kaufmannsdiele" - the office, workplace and home of a wealthy trader's family!
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In this room you can explore various ship models, architectural elements, and some quite famous streets of Hamburg!
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You can take a look the city's history in our exhibition about the Great Fire in 1842, the emigration into the USA, and the way Hamburg's economy and harbour developed into the 20th century.
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Nowadays, Hamburg is one of the leading harbours in the world, shipping containers worldwide. In this room, we show how the city developed into Germany's second largest city.
Projektkoordination und Umsetzung: Anna Symanczyk, Martina Fritz
Texte: SHMH
Fotos: SHMH
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