About this place
Built into the tidal channels of the Elbe between 1883 and 1927, the Speicherstadt is a warehouse district like no other, more than a kilometre of dark red brick towers standing on tens of thousands of oak piles driven into the marshy ground. It was created as a duty-free zone where merchants could store coffee, tea, spices, tobacco, and oriental carpets without paying customs, and for over a century the smell of roasting coffee and raw cocoa hung over its canals. Elaborate Gothic Revival gables, turrets, and glazed brickwork give the working buildings the air of a fairytale, while cargo was hoisted from barges and carts through winches under the eaves. Since 2015 it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and today its floors hold museums, carpet dealers, and the vast model railway of Miniatur Wunderland.
Key facts
- 260000 m² — Floor area of the world's largest contiguous warehouse complex
- 1883 year — Construction began, requiring the eviction of some 24,000 residents
- 2015 year — Named a UNESCO World Heritage Site with the neighbouring Kontorhaus district
📍 Dienerreihe 4, 20457, Hamburg