The story of Speicherstadt

Beneath these red-brick warehouses lies a hidden forest: the whole district stands on timber-pile foundations made of oak logs. It is the largest warehouse district of its kind in the world, built from 1883 to 1927 as a free zone where goods could be handled without paying customs. Its birth came at a high price.

When Hamburg agreed in 1881 to join the German Customs Union, it kept a permanent free port district, and to make room for it, demolition of the Kehrwieder and Wandrahm area began in 1883. More than 20,000 people had to be relocated. Franz Andreas Meyer gave the warehouses their Neo-Gothic brick skin, with little towers, alcoves and glazed terracotta ornaments. About half the buildings were destroyed by bombing in the Second World War; careful rebuilding was finished in 1967. On 5 July 2015 the Speicherstadt became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

As of 2005, its companies handled one third of the world's oriental rug production.