The museum presents the history of the city – from Hammaburg to proud Hanseatic city when it was literally the “gateway to the world”. This is also where visitors can find out everything from the pirates of the 14th and 15th centuries to how the city developed into a modern metropolis and became one of the most important ports in Europe. The museum building was constructed on the site of the former Henricus Bastion, part of the baroque fortifications erected by Dutchman Jan van Valckenborgh between 1616 and 1625.
The Museum of Hamburg History is being modernized. Exhibitions, gastronomy, library, workshops, museum shop and lecture halls will be renovated and fundamentally renewed in the next few years.
The first construction and modernization work started at the beginning of February 2023; the permanent exhibition on the 1st and 2nd floor is already being dismantled. Unfortunately, parts of the house are closed to visitors and many items from the collection will not be on display for a long time before the house has been completely renovated in 2027 and reopened to guests with new tours and offers. Until then, we ask for your understanding that not all departments are accessible.
However, from February 2023 to January 2024 the ground floor of the museum will remain open for you! There you can visit the special exhibition “A city becomes colorful” as well as the gastronomy and the library. In addition, we will be offering a program of events with guided tours, workshops and city tours until the end of 2023.
Our admission prices have been adjusted from February 1st, 2023: €5/person, €3/reduced.
The opening hours of our museum restaurant “Bastion” will not change.
Monday and Tuesday closed
Wednesday 10 am – 5 pm
Thursday 10 am – 9 pm
Friday 10 am – 5 pm
Saturday and Sunday 10 am – 6 pm
Closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. The museum is open from 10 am to 6 pm on all other public holidays.
5 € for individual visitors
4 € for group visitors (minimum 10 people)
3 € students (aged up to 30), apprentices/trainees, the unemployed, social security recipients, people with disabilities, FSJ
Free admission for children and young people under 18, members of the press, carers accompanying a disabled visitor, members of the Deutsches Museumsbund, members of the foundation council and the board of trustees of SHMH, board members and foundation council members of the state museums, ICOM, BVGD, members of the Friends of the SHMH, members of the Verein für Hamburgische Geschichte, BBK, Verband Deutscher Kunsthistoriker.
Stiftung Historische Museen Hamburg
Museum für Hamburgische Geschichte
Holstenwall 24
20355 Hamburg
Phone +49 40 428 132 100
E-Mail info@am.shmh.de
U-Bahn Line U3, stop St. Pauli
Bus 112, stop “Museum für Hamburgische Geschichte”
In the Museum Shop, you can buy catalogues, books, brochures and DVDs about the history of Hamburg and the museum’s exhibitions. We also offer selected novels and children’s books by Hamburg writers as well as small products on the theme of Hamburg.
The museum library is a specialised library open to the public. It collects Hamburg literature in the broadest sense of the term, including publications on the city’s history, architecture, shipping, the harbour, transport, cultural history, the city quarters and about Hamburg personalities and families.
Opening hours by agreement.
