Deutsches Hafenmuseum

The Deutsche Hafenmuseum is being established in Hamburg as a new national museum for the history of the Port of Hamburg; it emerged in April 2022 from the former Hafenmuseum Hamburg on the Kleiner Grasbrook and is still under development. It is operated by the Stiftung Historische Museen Hamburg (SHMH), whose network also includes the Museum für Hamburgische Geschichte, the Museum der Arbeit and the Altonaer Museum.

The previous location is on the Bremer Kai in the Hansahafen and occupies the listed Kaischuppen 50 of the so‑called 50er series. The museum was opened in 2002 as a branch of the Museum der Arbeit in the historic shed and expanded its indoor space from an initial roughly 700 to about 2,500 square metres. In addition there is an outdoor area with partly still operational harbour equipment and quay facilities with several large floating exhibits, including a coal‑fired floating steam crane, a Schutendampfsauger and, since its return in 2020, the four‑masted barque Peking.

The museum’s development is closely linked to the structural transformation of the port: containerisation from the 1960s made large parts of the eastern port facilities redundant, many areas were dismantled or filled in, and the historic 50er sheds came under threat in the 1980s. A foundation campaigned for the preservation and heritage‑appropriate restoration of the ensemble; the area of the 50er section was placed under monument protection in 2002 and was subsequently repaired step by step.

Inside and outdoors the museum illustrates the processes of conventional break‑bulk cargo handling and the changing nature of port work through technology, transport vehicles and work equipment. Demonstrations on operational machinery as well as exhibits on inland and regional shipping, port development, shipbuilding and ship repair exemplify the technology, professions and everyday life of past decades in the harbour. The ensemble also includes historic vessels and a rescued break‑bulk freighter from the 1950s, whose restoration is being carried out in cooperation with a works association and a youth project.

Another site is planned on the Schumacherwerder between the Norderelbe and the Moldauhafen, where the Peking is to take up its permanent berth. The realisation of the new Deutsche Hafenmuseum is, however, being delayed by rising costs and financing issues; an exact opening date has not yet been set.