About this place
The Hauptkirche Sankt Michaelis is the great baroque symbol of Hamburg and one of the finest Protestant churches of northern Germany. Its 132 metre tower, topped with green copper, dominates the skyline and long served as a navigation mark for ships sailing up the river Elbe. Above the main portal, a bronze statue of the Archangel Michael triumphs over the devil, the fitting patron of a building that has been destroyed and rebuilt three times. Inside lies the largest church interior in the city, with seating for 2,500, a place bound up with music through Telemann, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, and a young Johannes Brahms. A trumpeter still plays chorales from the tower twice a day, keeping alive a tradition more than three centuries old.
Key facts
- 132 meters — Height of the copper tower, a landmark for ships on the Elbe
- 452 steps — Climb to the viewing platform at 106 metres, or take the lift
- 2500 seats — The largest church interior anywhere in Hamburg
📍 Englische Planke 1 A, 20459, Hamburg