As of: March 11, 2024, 7:21 a.m
By: Christoph Gschoßmann
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Hamburg has a long and diverse history.
However, the city's oldest building is not in the center, but on an island in the Wadden Sea.
Hamburg – When you walk in Hamburg city center, history hits you from every corner.
From the Red Town Hall to the Speicherstadt in the Port of Hamburg to St. Michael's, Hamburg impresses millions of tourists with its sights.
But especially for those interested in history, the question may arise: What is actually the oldest building in Hamburg?
To do this, however, you have to leave the city center, about 100 kilometers away.
The oldest building in the Free and Hanseatic City is the lighthouse on the island of Neuwerk.
A photo from 2010, when the tower on the island of Neuwerk was still in operation as a lighthouse.
© imago stock&people
Neuwerk lighthouse: 138 steps up to the view over the Wadden Sea
The island, which is just three square kilometers small, lies in the Wadden Sea, but is part of the city of millions.
According to the city of Hamburg's website, construction work on the tower in the Wadden Sea began as early as 1300 and lasted ten years.
This makes it not only the oldest building in the city, but also the oldest secular building on the entire German coast.
The tower has a fire height of 38 meters and stands on a foundation one meter high.
If you want to climb it, you have to climb 138 steps.
Surname |
Neuwerk lighthouse |
Federal State |
Hamburg |
Location |
Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg |
district |
Hamburg center |
Location |
Neuwerk Island |
construction time |
1300–1310 |
Fire height |
38 meters |
Monument protection |
Since 1924 |
Operating time as a lighthouse |
December 20, 1814 to February 10, 2014 |
The tower on Neuwerk first served as a defensive tower to protect against pirates
Like many towers on the sea, the Neuwerk lighthouse was intended to ensure safety on the coast.
As a defensive tower, it also served as protection against pirates.
Anyone who wanted to conquer the tower had a difficult time because there is no ground-level entrance.
Access to the interior is still on the first floor, via a wooden staircase.
The tower was not only important for protection against criminals: it also served as a refuge for the islanders when the North Sea experienced heavy storm surges.
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Just 62 years after completion, however, there was a catastrophe in the tower: it almost completely burned down in 1372.
The building was extensively renovated.
It served as a defensive tower for hundreds of years, and it was only in 1814 that the tower began to be used for another purpose: as a lighthouse.
This was initially done with glowing coals, Argand lamps, oil lamps, parabolic mirrors, petroleum incandescent lamps and finally, from 1942, with electricity.
Neuwerk lighthouse: 30 kilometers further, the beam of light was visible until 2014
With electricity, the light cone could be seen from 30 kilometers away, even from Heligoland when conditions were favorable.
The structure was in operation as a lighthouse until 2014.
The technology was outdated and no longer necessary for nautical purposes because modern ships can navigate without a lighthouse.
However, because local residents wanted the lighthouse not to be completely darkened, a less powerful lamp was replaced that only lasts three nautical miles.
But it still lights up.
A drawing by Th. Weber of the Neuwerk lighthouse, from a magazine from the period 1850 to 1880. © Historisches Augen Ralf Felt via imago
The lighthouse has no longer served as a fixed point for large ships.
But the building had already become a tourist attraction.
Almost 100,000 visitors climb the tower every year and populate the island, which has just 40 residents.
There is also a rich birdlife to admire on the island.
Today, the Neuwerk lighthouse is primarily a tourist attraction
The main attraction is the tower with its viewing platform at a height of 40 meters.
From here you have a breathtaking view over the Wadden Sea.
The tower has been a listed building since 1924.
You can also stay overnight here, in a hostel (“Pension Leuchtturm”) directly in the tower: you can spend the night in seven rooms within the red brick walls.
By the way, the easiest way for tourists to get to the island is from Cuxhaven-Sahlenburg.
The journey with the Watt wagon takes one and a half hours.
The passenger ship MS Flipper also goes to the island.
In 2010, on the lighthouse's 700th birthday, the tower was honored with a special postage stamp and a special cancellation.
(cgsc)