On July 5, 2015, the time had finally come: Hamburg was awarded its first World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The Speicherstadt including the Kontorhaus district around the Chilehaus. At the end of the 19th century, Hamburg was persuaded to join the customs union established by Bismarck – on the condition that it continued to enjoy duty-free status. A majority vote in favor allowed the Speicherstadt to be built on thousands of oak piles to create a free port. At the time, 15-20 thousand people had to find a new place to live. Today, however, UNESCO recognized “the exceptional universal value of the inner-city ensemble of maritime warehouse complexes and office buildings from the early 20th century” and awarded Hamburg its first World Heritage Site. The ingenious architectural design of the warehouses, which can be accessed from both the water and land sides, conceals around 500,000 m² of well-tempered storage space, some of which is still used as such today. However, since the free port was abolished, more and more tourist attractions have been established in the Speicherstadt. Today, you will not only find the Miniature Wonderland there, but also the Hamburg Dungeon, Dialogue in the Dark, Spicy’s Spice Museum and the Speicherstadt Museum. If you would like to find out more about the Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus district, please feel free to book me for a tour. I look forward to presenting this new world-famous attraction to you.
