‘The St. Pauli Elbtunnel’s Art-Deco design, combined with the reliefs lining the tiled walls, make this attraction particularly popular with photographers like myself, the only danger is avoiding being run over by the pedal cycles, the riders of which slow down for no one’
Quite by chance, this year we were in Germany visiting family on my birthday weekend. The day prior to the big day, I was asked if I’d like to visit the Harz Mountains or have a day trip to the city of Hamburg. We’d visited the mountains on our last visit, so both David and I opted for a trip to see the city.
As part of my birthday treat a boat trip around the city waterways was organised. We queued for a little while, then waited whilst the trip organisers crammed as many people on as they could on board, to the point of it becoming quite difficult to move about. Not letting this lack of space or lack of understanding of the German language deter me, out came the camera. The first photo I took on the water is at a location called Brooksfleet, a not very German sounding name, I thought, when I did my research at a later date.
Hamburg’s canals originated mainly from the confluence of the Alster and Bille rivers with the River Elbe. They were originally used for drainage and as city moats.
The houses of wealthy merchants, usually a combined residence, office, and warehouse, were built with their rear facing the canal and their front facing the street, often with appropriate lifting devices on both sides. The cargoes from sea-going vessels were first transferred to smaller barges and transported across the canals to their destination for temporary storage or further processing. The goods were later transported by water or laboriously overland for further shipment.
Although the canals formed an important network for the transport of goods, they also served for water extraction and for the disposal of human waste, which resulted in the development of odours and hygiene problems. As part of renovation measures, the smaller and less usable canals were filled in as early as the nineteenth century.
Following a devastating storm surge in 1962, most of the canals were blocked off from the Elbe by locks for flood protection, this one now forms a part of the tourist boat route around the waterfront area.
The buildings have now all been re-purposed, mainly for tourism and I noticed that one was now the Hamburg Dungeon.
On leaving Brooksfleet we found ourselves a more open stretch of water, the below photo is of the Elbphilharmonie.
It is a striking looking building on the waterfront. It has 1010 curved glass windows, stands 110 meters tall and boasts over 1.5 million visitors a year. A visit to the plaza (where you can see the people in the photo) is well worth a visit for views across the city. We did end up there later in the day. The building was designed by the Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron and I believe the concert hall on top of the brick base is supposed to resemble a glittering crown.
Sailing on, we arrived at a spot where we had excellent views of another section of Hamburg’s waterfront, as can be seen below.
The dome on the left of the picture is the entrance to the River Elbe Tunnel which is twenty-four metres under the river and connects both banks of the river. The old building with the arch is now a Hard Rock Cafe. The boats moored along the waterfront are the ones which take tourists, like ourselves, on sightseeing trips. The trips vary between one and two hoursand the smaller boats take you into areas that the larger boats do not; we were on one of the smaller vessels.
As I’ve just mentioned the River Elbe Tunnel, it’s time for a visit there. The below photo is of the lifts, there are also stairs which we opted to take to get to the tunnel entrance.
Each lift has a capacity for a maximum of 130 people. They retain their old appearance but everything now appears to be running on twenty-first century technology.
Arriving at the tunnel entrance you are greeted with this sight.
In 1911 the St. Pauli Elbtunnel, also called Alter Elbtunnel, or ‘Old Elbe Tunnel’, was built to provide a more direct route for dock workers to get to the southern banks of the Elbe river from the Landungsbrücken piers in St. Pauli. A technical innovation at the time of its construction, the tunnel became a tourist attraction when the ‘new’ Elbtunnel and several bridges were built in the 1970s.
Now, pedestrians and cyclists wishing to cross below the river can descend in a free lift into the deep. The underpass is 426 metres long and is used by city dwellers and tourists to explore the remote corners of the port area or to get to Wilhelmsburg or Altes Land. The observation platform south of the river is popular with both tourists and locals for its magnificent panoramic views of the city.
The Old Elbe Tunnel has been a preserved historic site since 2003. The lamps symmetrically lining the arched tunnel walls create an other-worldly atmosphere twenty-four metres below the river’s surface. The St. Pauli Elbtunnel’s Art-Deco design, combined with the reliefs lining the tiled walls, make this attraction particularly popular with photographers like myself, the only danger is avoiding being run over by the pedal cycles, the riders of which slow down for no one.
Back out into the light again and it was time to take a closer look around the area by the Elbephilarmonie, the distinctive shadow of its crown can be seen on the buildings in the next photo.
The photo was taken from the walkway leading from the Elbphilharmonie towards Am Sandtorkai and the red brick Columbus Haus building, which is home to an array of shops and other establishments.
In the distance are five spires, the one second on the left, which I’d noticed on our drive into the city, is the spire of St. Nicholas Church. The bombing of Hamburg in World War II destroyed the bulk of the church. The removal of the rubble left only its crypt, its site and tall-spired tower are largely hollow save for a large set of bells which can now be seen on the outside. These ruins continue to serve as a memorial and an important architectural landmark.
The five Hauptkirchen (main churches) of Hamburg, are St. Michaelis, St. Nicholai, St. Petri, St. James and St. Katharinen. They are considered to be the principle churches of the city, the term ‘main church’ is only used in Hamburg and dates from the medieval period when there only the five churches in the city.
Our busy day in the city was drawing to a close, time to return to the car for the journey back, but there was one last thing to look at before we leave. I’d spotted the below sculpture in the trees when we parked earlier in the day but had no clue as to who it was.
Turns out it was the Bismarck Monument (German: Bismarck-Denkmal). It is a memorial sculpture located in the St. Pauli quarter dedicated to Otto von Bismarck. It is one of 240 memorials to Bismarck worldwide and is the largest and probably best known of these Bismarck towers. The monument stands near the jetties of Hamburg port on the Elbhöhe, today a local recreation area. The architect was Johann Emil Schaudt; the sculptor was Hugo Lederer.
The site of the monument was previously occupied by the Elbpavillon restaurant which was removed in 1901. Mayor Johann Georg Mönckeberg established a citizens’ commission to erect the monument at the site. The monument cost 500,000 goldmarks to erect and was completed in 1906.
It is approximately thirty-five metres high, weighs 600 tonsand is the world’s largest Bismarck monument. Sadly, the large base of this one has been the target of the graffiti brigade and is now an unsightly mess.
Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg was a German statesman and diplomat who oversaw the unification of Germany and served as its first Chancellor from 1871 to 1890.
So that, dear readers, brings this whirlwind tour of Hamburg to a close. We are not really city people but it was an enjoyable and interesting day. Hamburg has its problems, crime, homelessness, graffiti etc like many other cities across the globe, but it was well worth the visit and was an unusual and unexpected birthday treat.
Writing & Images – Ruth Craine, Summer 2025
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