AWCH The HafenCity

It means harbor or port city, but get used to it: HafenCity is the name. This entails a 155-Hektar area south of downtown Hamburg. That’s almost 383 acres (1 hectare = 2.47 acres), a bit more than your grandfather’s back forty acres in Missouri. For the last 140 years everything beyond the Speicherstadt was off-limits, a no-man’s land for ships, wares, and customs officials. That has changed. Now it is the largest urban development project in Europe, and plans are underway to build apartments for 10-12,000 people and office space for 40,000. There will be parks, a new bus route, a new U-bahn (#4), restaurants and shops. Downtown Hamburg will grow by 40% over the next 25 years, just a ten-minute walk from the Rathaus.

According to Hamburg Senator Michael Freytag, no single-family houses are planned because of the danger of flooding at least twice a year. However, unique new landmarks will give people something to talk about. Out on the point of the harbor at Dalmannkai on top of the old Kaispeicher A (warehouse), a new concert hall will be built with two performance halls for 2000 guests each. There will be luxurious apartments and an equally luxurious hotel. The top will be crowned by a unique wavy glass roof, looking like, yes, waves in the river. What a sight to greet incoming ships such as the Queen Mary 2. The Sydney Opera House in Australia is nothing compared to this.

Another landmark will be the renovated Kaispeicher B which will house a Maritime Museum (aka aquarium) and Peter Tamm’s huge maritime collection. This includes 27,000 model ships, 35,000 construction plans, nautical instruments, paintings, diagrams, and 1.5 million photographs. Built in 1878, the Kaispeicher B is the oldest warehouse in the historic Speicherstadt.

When I was last there, anyone could walk around the area, although it was much like walking through Berlin’s Potsdamer Platz at the height of its construction. Watch out for huge trucks and building cranes. Don’t expect sidewalks. You are there at your own risk.

Start at the Kesselhaus (former boiler house) at Sandtorkai 30. This interesting building is easily identifiable by its tall smoke stack. Here you can pick up information in German and English. Plan your walk by looking at the scale model in the middle of the room. Just recently, there was an exhibit of things found while excavating, e.g., old leather shoes, clay pipes and Chinese porcelain from 1642. There will be more exhibits in the future. At the café bolster your strength with a snack and a cup of coffee. (Sandtorkai 30, Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, closed Mon, tel 36 90 1799)

Go out of the Kesselhaus and turn left down Sandtorkai. Follow your nose to the delicious smell of the old coffee warehouse on your right. It’s almost too bad that it will soon be torn down for the Amerika Center. Walk through the middle of the HafenCity area to the water to a bright red lookout tower open to the public. If you have bored teenagers or kids in your entourage, you can always stop exploring and go to something safe and familiar like the Gewürz (spice) Museum, the Dungeon or the Model Train Exhibit – all are highly recommended and are in this immediate area.

Before you go, look up www.hafencity.info. Click on the bottom left under “English” for more information. If you don’t want to go on your own, there is a tour every Tuesday, 16:00-18:00, Apr 1 - Oct 31. Meet at U-bahn Baumwall. The tour ends at the Speicherstadt. There is no need to sign up beforehand. Be aware that it is in German and currently costs EUR 6 for adults and EUR 3 for children.

For more information, go to www.hamburg-tourismus.de. Click on the British flag for English, then click on “sightseeing”, “sightseeing tours”, and “city walks”. Or try www.hamburger-gaestefuehrer-verein.de in German. Click “Angebote & Leistungen”, and scroll down. Also, listen to their tape at tel 601 84 80 in German. Perhaps we can get a group together to book a private tour in English (tel 601 01 00). Pick up brochures at the Hauptbahnhof info stand and also at the Kesselhaus.

This is exciting history in the making and you can be a part of it!