About the Museum of work

Whether it’s a print shop, trading office, metal workshop or special exhibition, the Museum Of Work deals with the history, present and future of work and the world of work since the industrial age. In its exhibitions, it explores the question of what effects the process of industrialization and the comprehensive social, cultural and economic changes it brought about had on people, society and nature.

The Museum Of Work is located on the former factory site of the New-York Hamburger Gummi-Waaren Compagnie from 1871, which is a listed building. The museum’s workshops are housed in the former boiler house from 1896.

Historische Fotoaufnahme einer Dampfmaschine, die von zwei Männern in einer gefliesten Halle bedient wird — Engine room with a steam engine; 1901-1902. Museum of work

The museum itself is located in the New Factory from 1908, while the first floor and first floor of the Old Factory from 1871 are available for exhibitions, events and rentals. The former “Zinnschmelze” now houses the district cultural center of the same name. Like no other location in Hamburg, the impressive listed ensemble illustrates the industrialization of Hamburg.

The landmark of the comparatively young museum is T.R.U.D.E, the former cutting wheel of the world’s largest tunnel boring machine, which was in use from 1997 to 2000 during the construction of the fourth tube of Hamburg’s Elbe Tunnel.

The museum has been part of the Foundation of Historical Museums Hamburg since 2008.

Ein Blick von oben auf den Hof am Museum der Arbeit mit einem historischen Kran und dem 14 Meter hohen runden Schneidrad der Elbtunnerbohrers TRUDE. — Museum courtyard, Cutter wheel T.R.U.D.E. Photo: SHMH Sinje Hasheider

The history of the museum – a museum for everybody

The idea for a Museum of Work first emerged at the end of the 1970s in response to the massive structural changes that were affecting work in industrial nations all over the world, and hence also had an impact on Hamburg. One of the aims of the initiators was to preserve valuable evidence of an industrial culture that was fast disappearing. In the 1970s, calls for the democratization of museums and the way in which history was presented led to the idea of setting up a museum that would be dedicated to “history from below”, to the history of ordinary people; it was to be a museum that was open for everybody.

The museum society was founded in 1980 with the objective of convincing the city to open this new museum. This endeavour was crowned with success in 1982, when the new project was included in the groups of Hamburg’s Historical Museums and the site of the former rubber factory New-York Hamburger Gummi-Waaren Compagnie in Hamburg-Barmbek was rented. The very first job was created; in 1985, the first Open Door Day was held for the general public. The museum has been open since, offering changing exhibitions and courses in the printing workshops, as well as a varied and informative range of guided historic tours of the city and its different districts.

One year later, in 1986, in recognition of its groundbreaking democratic concept the Museum der Arbeit received the Culture Prize of the Kulturpolitische Gesellschaft e.V.. In 1987, the senate of Hamburg decided to keep the museum permanently in the former factory site in Barmbek. A senate decision in 1989 saw the museum being officially elevated to the status of the seventh state-run museum in the city, a change which came into effect on 1 January 1990 and made the museum an independent institution. The permanent exhibition in the “Neue Fabrik” (“New Factory”) was opened at the beginning of 1997; on 1 January 1999, the Museum der Arbeit – like the other six state-run museums in the city – became a foundation under public law.

Hands-on experience

The Museum of Work is a living museum; its open workshops and presentations of historical crafts have become the museum’s main characteristics. Educational programmes for children include making elephant-shaped tin pendants or creating colourful pins in the metal workshop and learning about the “black art of printing” in the printing workshops. On Monday evenings, the museum’s open workshops give insight into working conditions in the printing trades in the past. Visitors can also print their own projects supervised by experts. A visit to the bookbinding workshop is always worthwhile; here you can learn how to salvage your favourite book.

T.R.U.D.E. – The world’s biggest tunnel DRILLing machine

The cutter wheel of T.R.U.D.E (“Tief Runter Unter Die Elbe”), the world’s biggest tunnel boring machine, stands in the courtyard of Museum of Work as a technical monument. In around 2 ½ years T.R.U.D.E chewed her way under the Elbe River from Waltershof on the south banks to Othmarschen on the north banks, digging the forth bore of the Elbe Tunnel in the process, right next to the previously built 3 bores of the new Elbe Tunnel. The 2.560 m long forth bore was opened to the public in October 2002.

After the construction project in Hamburg was completed, the machine was used for building a motorway tunnel in Moscow. The cutter wheel was not fit to operate there as it had been specifically designed to match the particular conditions underneath the Elbe and in 2011 T.R.U.D.E was brought to the museum courtyard by the Osterbekkanal.

Both Elbe tunnels were outstanding technical achievements and they each presented significant challenges for engineers and workers alike. Although both projects used the very latest technology available at that time, neither would have been possible without the effort and input of the workers.
Regrettably, no tools from the first two projects have survived to document this incredible technical achievement. After the last project – the fourth bore of the new tunnel – was completed, the Museum der Arbeit was determined to preserve a piece of this landmark construction project that plays such a great role in the everyday lives of the city’s inhabitants. With the support of many businesses and individuals, the Museum succeeded in bringing T.R.U.D.E’s cutter wheel to Barmbek.