The Museum for Hamburg History (German: Museum für Hamburgische Geschichte) is a history museum located in the city of Hamburg in northern Germany. The museum was established in 1908 and opened at its current location in 1922, although its parent organization was founded in 1839. The museum is located near the Planten un Blomen park in the center of Hamburg.[2] The museum is commonly reviewed among the museums of the city of Hamburg.[3]
History
The museum in 1930
The Society of Hamburg History (Verein für Hamburgische Geschichte), founded in 1839, started compiling the Collection of Hamburg Antiquities (Sammlung Hamburger Altertümer). First exhibits included architectural fragments of the demolished St. Mary's Cathedral and two monasteries.
The main building at Holstenwall was designed by Fritz Schumacher and constructed between 1914 and 1922.[4] The museum was built on the site of the former Bastion Henricus, a part of the baroque fortification which was erected between 1616 and 1625 by the Dutchman Jan van Valckenborgh in order to make the town impregnable.
The museum's courtyard was damaged during the Great fire of Hamburg in 1842 and fully restored in 1995. A glass dome over the inner courtyard was completed in 1989.[5] The glass courtyard was completed by the firm of Von Gerkan, Marg and Partners.[5] This provided more museum space without an actual new building, because it allowed increased use of the courtyard.[5] The covered courtyard was actually envisioned, or at least considered, as part of the original design, however the construction of the covering was deferred.[5] The design uses a steelgridshell.[5]
The Hamburg Observatory occupied the museum's current site from 1825 to 1912 before being moved to Bergedorf. The area was part of the old city wall defences built by the Dutchman Jan van Valckenborgh. These walls were part of Bastion Henricus, which was a baroquefortification built between 1616 and 1625.[4] The museum was formerly located at the Johanneum school.
The museum became state-owned under the direction of Otto Lauffer in the early 1900s, though this was changed back in 1999.
The museum adopted the name hamburgmuseum, and initials hm, in 2006. In 2008, the museum started a program called hm freunde (Society of Friends of the Museum for Hamburg History).[6]
The pirate skull with its famous nail
In 2010, a pirate skull with a nail in it was stolen from the museum.[7] The skull was discovered in 1878, and forensic analysis believes it to be from the 1400s.[7] At that time, it was common for pirates to be executed by being beheaded, and then the skull would be put on an iron stake to display the consequences of this activity.[7] A more precise determination was attempted by the museum in 2004 by DNA analysis, but there was no further confirmation.[7] It was thought this might be from a particular execution of 30 during the age of the Hanseatic League.[7] The skull was stolen on January 9, 2010, and it was thought it may be the skull of (in)famous pirate Klaus Stoertebeker.[citation needed]
The skull was added to the museum's collection in 1922.[citation needed]
In 2016, the museum was considered as a candidate for repatriation of a century old German dog-tag.[8] The dog-tag belonged to a soldier that had gone missing in action during World War I.[9]
Exhibits in 2005
Over time, there is a gradual shift with some temporary exhibits also. Here the exhibits around 2005:
Aufsatzofen, 1778
Kleidung und Mode: Kostüme und Kleidung in Hamburg von 1550–1920 (Clothing and fashion: costumes and clothing in Hamburg from 1550 to 1920)
Hamburgisches Mäzenatentum: Familie Lorenz-Meyer als Beispiel (Hamburgian Patronage: The example of the Lorenz-Meyer family)
Musik und Kunst in Hamburg (Music and art in Hamburg)
Theater und Wissenschaft in Hamburg (Theatre and science in Hamburg)
Hamburg im 20. Jahrhundert (Hamburg in the 20th century)
Der Hamburger Börsenvorplatz von 1558 (The forecourt of the Hamburgian exchange of 1558)
Hamme, Burg und Hansestadt – Hamburg im Mittelalter ( Hamme, castle and city of the Hanse - Hamburg in mediaeval times)
Kirchen, Kanonen und Kommerz – Hamburg in der frühen Neuzeit (Churches, canons and commerce - Hamburg in the early modern period)
Reformation in Hamburg (Reformation in Hamburg)
Hamburg als Währungszentrum (Hamburg as centre of currencies)
Das Schiffswrack von Wittenbergen (The shipwreck of Wittenbergen)
Bauen und Wohnen und die Sicherung der Elbe vor Piraten (Constructing and living and securing the Elbe from pirates)
Barocke Kaufmannsdiele (Baroque merchant hall)
Stadtbild und Verfassung im 17. Jahrhundert (Townscape and constitution in the 17th century)
Hamburg 1650-1860 (Hamburg 1650–1860)
Die HafenCity – Hamburg im 21. Jahrhundert (The HafenCity - Hamburg in the 21st century)
Kommandobrücke des Dampfers WERNER (The command bridge of steamboat WERNER)
Zur Wohnkultur (About home decor)
Geschichte der Juden in Hamburg[10] (History of the Jews in Hamburg)
Klopstockzimmer (The Klopstock room)
Barocke Wohnräume (Baroque living rooms)
Kunsthandwerk und Wohnkultur (Handicraft and home decor)
1945. Kriegsende in Hamburg (1945. End of the war in Hamburg)
Interior and contents
Hamburg Museum's courtyardLobby of the Hamburg Museum
The museum has many artifacts preserved by the Society of Hamburg History founded in 1839. The Petri portal from Hamburg's St. Petri Church, built in 1604, was built into the museum courtyard in the 1990s.[11]
The museum is known for having miniature scale models that show the history of the port.[12] It is also a site for the club MEHEV, and the museum as one of the largest scale model railroads.[12]
The museum's website lists its permanent exhibitions as:
Hamburg in the 20th Century
Hamburg's Historical Highlights
Medieval Hamburg
Hamburg and the Church
Hamburg in the Early Modern Age
Baroque Merchant Hall
Cityscape and Constitution in the 17th Century
The Dawning of the Modern Age
The 1842 Fire
Emigration via Hamburg
Maritime Trade
Hamburg in the 21st Century
Navigation Bridge of the Werner Steamship
The Arrival of the First Jews in Hamburg
Enlightenment and Emancipation
During the German Empire
The Weimar Republic
Persecution and the holocaust under the National Socialist regime
Jewish Schools
Jews and business in Hamburg
Jewish Residential Areas and Living Conditions
The Synagogue
Visitors
The museum takes part in the Long Night of Museums of Hamburg.[13]Die lange Nacht der Museen is a spring evening when museums like HM stay open past midnight, and has been held annually since the year 2000.[14][15]
Horbas, Claudia; Pelc, Ortwin (2002). Es brannte an allen Ecken und Enden zugleich – Hamburg 1842 Zur Ausstellung im Museum für Hamburgische Geschichte, Nov. 2002 bis Febr. 2003 (in German). Heide: Boyens. ISBN978-3-8042-1114-8.
