HafenCity
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About
Why go
- Elbphilharmonie, HafenCity’s landmark concert hall.
- Speicherstadt’s historic warehouses, part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2015.
- The International Maritime Museum of Hamburg.
Don't miss
- ElbphilharmonieThe concert hall opened in 2017 above an old warehouse, on the Kaiserhöft site where Kaispeicher A was completed in 1875.Kaiserhöft
- SpeicherstadtThe western warehouse district opened in 1888 on the site of residential neighbourhoods cleared for the free port.Former islands of Kehrwieder and Wandrahm
- Am Dalmannkai/SandtorkaiHafenCity’s first completed quarter, finished in 2009.Beside the Elbphilharmonie2009
Interesting facts4
Shorts
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WESTFIELD - Hamburgs neues Shoppingcenter in der HafencityHamburg and Travel
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Hafen City ❤️Hamburg | Hamburg Germany 🇩🇪 |Amarpreet Europe 🇪🇺VLogs
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Mein Schiff 2: Einlaufen in Hamburg HafenCityMein Schiff
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2 Jahre Später, Hafencity ist nicht wiederzuerkennenNick J. Faber
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So kommt Hafencity nicht mehr durchn TÜVNick J. Faber
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Hamburg Hafencity Riverbus splash into the waterA trudging Pilgrym
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Hamburg, on a river cruise... while sitting in a bus. We tried the Sw…Sustainable Bus
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🎡 Top 11 Attraktionen in der Hamburger HafenCity für Familien mit Kin…Hamburgausflug
History
Until the early 19th century, most of Grasbrook lay outside Hamburg’s city gates. Shipyards and port businesses operated there in the 18th and early 19th centuries. From the mid-1960s, active port operations shifted west of the Alter Elbtunnel as container traffic and ship sizes grew, leaving former port land increasingly derelict.
- 15th centuryThe west tip of Großen Grasbrook served as an execution site, including for pirate Klaus Störtebeker and the Vitalienbrüder.
- 1844Hamburg’s first gasworks was built on the island.
- 1866Sandtorhafen, Hamburg’s first artificial harbour basin, was excavated.
- 1875Kaispeicher A was completed at Kaiserhöft, on the site now occupied by the Elbphilharmonie.
- 1883Kehrwieder and Wandrahm were cleared for the free port, displacing about 20,000 residents.
Show all
- 1885The former port authority administration building was built at Magdeburger Hafen.
- 1886Harbour basins and facilities covered the whole island.
- 2000A master plan set out the conversion of the harbour edge into an extension of the city centre.
- 9 Apr 2001Construction began.
- 20 Jun 2001The first cornerstone was laid.
- 1 Jan 2003The area left the duty-free zone to make housing and supporting infrastructure possible.
- 1 Mar 2008HafenCity became an official Hamburg district.
- 2009Am Dalmannkai/Sandtorkai, beside the Elbphilharmonie, became the first completed part of the district.
How to get there
- TrainTake the U4 metro to Überseequartier, HafenCity Universität or Elbbrücken.
- BoatCruise ships can berth at Hamburg Cruise Center HafenCity at Strandkai.
- On footA cruise terminal serving HafenCity is located in Westfield Hamburg Überseequartier.
Sources: HafenCity - Wikipedia · Hamburg - Wikivoyage (listing) · Cruisegate Hamburg | Cruise Center HafenCity · Hamburg-HafenCity - Wikipedia · HafenCity - Wikipedia · checked 26 Sep 2026
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Questions and answers
How large is HafenCity?
The whole district covers about 2.4 square kilometres.
How did the former port become a residential district?
The area left the duty-free zone in January 2003, allowing housing and supporting infrastructure.
What occupied Grasbrook before the modern port?
Its western tip served as an execution site in the 15th century, including for pirate Klaus Störtebeker and the Vitalienbrüder.
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