About this place
Beneath this unassuming lawn, archaeologists uncovered the remains of the Hammaburg, the ring-shaped timber fortress of the early ninth century from which Hamburg takes its name — a frontier post of the Christian world that Viking longships burned in 845. For centuries the square then held the Mariendom, Hamburg's medieval cathedral, which the city sold for demolition between 1805 and 1807. Since 2009 the square has been an open park, its curving white benches tracing the outlines of the vanished buildings, with panels and a viewing station recalling what stood here.
Key facts
- 845 year — Viking longships came up the Elbe and burned the Hammaburg
- 1807 year — The demolition of the Mariendom cathedral was completed
- 2009 year — The square reopened as a park with white benches tracing the lost buildings
📍 Domstraße, 20095, Hamburg