Altstadt
The Vibe
Historic civic grandeur alongside the commercial energy of a great European trading city — Neo-Gothic spires above the canal system, the vast Rathaus presiding over the market square, and the Expressionist Chilehaus announcing Weimar modernism in red brick
Description
Hamburg's Altstadt (Old Town) is the historic core of Germany's second city and its greatest port — a dense commercial and civic quarter rebuilt after the Great Fire of 1842 destroyed much of the medieval city, giving 19th-century Hamburg a unified Neo-Gothic and Neoclassical character that still defines the centre. The Hamburg Rathaus (1897) is the grandest town hall in Germany, its Flemish Renaissance facade towering over the Rathausmarkt square where the city's political and cultural life converges. The Mönckebergstraße connects the Rathaus to the Hauptbahnhof as Hamburg's main shopping artery. The Alsterfleet canal cuts through the district, connecting to the system of water channels that run throughout the inner city — Hamburg has more bridges than Amsterdam and Venice combined. The medieval parish churches of St. Nikolai (preserved as a war memorial, its blackened spire one of the city's most powerful monuments), St. Petri, and St. Katharinen anchor the street plan of the pre-fire city. The Kontorhausviertel — the Expressionist red-brick office buildings of the 1920s, including the famous Chilehaus — is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, representing the commercial energy of Weimar-era Hamburg.
Neighborhood Stats
Popular With
- history-lovers
- architecture-enthusiasts
- city-breaks
- business-travellers
- culture-seekers
Key Attributes
- historic-centre
- Rathaus
- UNESCO
- canal-city
- Chilehaus
- commerce
- Expressionist-architecture
Food Scene
Café Paris (Rathausstraße) is the grand French brasserie of Hamburg's centre, serving classic French cuisine in a belle époque interior. Deichmann (Deichstraße) anchors the historic merchant houses canal frontage with German and regional cooking. The Rathaus Markt hosts seasonal markets. The Alsterhaus food hall (Jungfernstieg) carries luxury delicatessen. Zur Alten Börse offers traditional Hamburg merchant-class dining near the stock exchange building.