Elbphilharmonie

Since its completion in 2016, the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg has been one of the most important sights and landmarks in the city of Hamburg. It is located in HafenCity, a district of Hamburg on the right bank of the North Elbe.

Elbphilharmonie |Concert hall on the North Elbe

The Elbphilharmonie stands on the former Kaiserhöft, which was created in the course of the port construction measures for the open tidal port in 1865 by straightening the Johns’schen corner. The location at the Kaiserhöft is characterized by the former industrial port use and the neo-Gothic brick architecture of the warehouse district. The most modern concert hall in Hamburg was built on the former warehouse for cocoa, tea and other goods between 2007 and 2017, i.e. in 10 years. The idea of ​​building a concert hall at this point was developed in 2001. It was created on the private initiative of the architect Alexander Gérard and his wife, the art historian Jana Marko. The architects’ first draft was presented to the public in June 2003. The foundation stone was laid on April 2, 2007. Completion of the building was initially planned for 2010, but was postponed several times. The concert hall was finally completed in November 2016. The construction, worth millions, was partly financed by the city of Hamburg, but also by private investors and donations. The initially planned 186 million euros ended up being around 866 million euros.

In addition to the concert hall, the Elbphilharmonie has other uses. Among other things, there are apartments, a hotel and a public viewing platform.

Elbphilharmonie | architecture

18,000 tons of steel, 110 meters above sea level and 16,000 square meters of glass facade. These are just a few facts about the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. It is the new landmark of HafenCity and part of the Hamburg skyline.

The Elbphilharmonie was designed by the Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron. They envisaged a glass-clad structure with a strikingly curved roof shape on the brick Kaispeicher A building (built in 1963), which still existed at the time. This should be reminiscent of sails, water waves, icebergs or a quartz crystal. It is also called “glass wave”. With this characteristic feature of the building, an unmistakable silhouette should be formed.

The building itself has 26 floors. Due to the wedge shape of the storage facility, the space in the Elbphilharmonie is 85 meters wide in the east and 22 meters in the west.

The large concert hall with a height of 50 meters offers space for around 2,200 people. In addition to this large hall, there are two smaller halls. A smaller hall with around 550 seats and a third hall, the so-called Kaiserstudio, the smallest hall with only around 170 seats.

In the building, visitors and tourists also get a wonderful panoramic view of Hamburg. There is also an external tour that goes around the building. This enables a 360° view from a height of 37 meters.

number of visitors per year

Around 1 million people visit the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie every year.

Address

Platz d. Deutschen Einheit 4, 20457 Hamburg

opening hours

Plaza: daily 10am – midnight (last entry 11:30pm)

Info point in the entrance area: daily from 10 a.m. to 11:30 p.m

Visitor Center (2G), Am Kaiserkai 62: daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m

events at the elbphilharmonie

In addition to classical music, the concert hall also hosts jazz concerts, solo performances by famous artists, readings and many other formats. Tickets for events are available from the ticket dealer Eventim, among others.

ticket prices

The ticket prices depend on the events. Guided tours are also possible. Use the offers of our partner. The plaza of the Elbphilharmonie can be entered free of charge. Note, however, that this area has limited capacity, so visitors may have to wait a bit. We recommend a guided tour.

tickets