Deichtorhallen Hamburg

Deichtorhallen Hamburg is one of Europe’s largest exhibition center for contemporary art and photography. The two historical buildings dating from 1911-13 are real eye-catchers, with their open steel-and-glass structures. It is an architecture that today creates the backdrop for spectacular major international shows. Since 2011, the two buildings at the interface of Hamburg’s Art Mile and Hafencity have been supplemented by a satellite in Hamburg’s Harburg district, the Sammlung Falckenberg.

Between 1911 und 1914, Deichtorhallen were built as market halls on the grounds of the former »Berliner Bahnhof«, Hamburg’s counterpart to Berlin’s »Hamburger Bahnhof«. They constitute one of the few surviving examples of industrial architecture from the transitional period between Art Nouveau and 20th-century styles. The two halls are open steel structures, the northern hall is a longitudinal edifice boasting three naves and a 3,800 sq.m. footprint; the southern hall (1,800 sq.m.) is a building with a lantern roof. Rupprecht Matthies created two »language cylinders« visitors can walk through for Deichtorplatz − which is also home to a Richard Serra sculpture. In the northern hall, there is a line of neon writing by Mario Merz and a »Blue Disc« by Imi Knoebel. 

Körber-Stiftung restored Deichtorhallen, which has owned ever since by the City of Hamburg. In 1989, they were assigned to a limited liability company: Deichtorhallen-Ausstellungs GmbH. On Nov. 9, 1989 Deichtorhallen’s international art exhibition program opened with the show »Einleuchten«, curated by Harald Szeemann. Down through the years, Deichtorhallen Hamburg has emerged as an exhibition center for photography and contemporary art with three pillars of activities, three institutions under the single Deichtorhallen brand. Since 2009 Dr. Dirk Luckow has been Artistic Director of Deichtorhallen Hamburg. 

A design shop, a specialist photography book store and the multi-award winning restaurant »Fillet of Soul« round out the Deichtorhallen offerings. Located at the interface of the Art Mile and Hafencity, it offers an ideal launch pad for cultural undertakings.