ARCADES PROJECT

In 2011 the city of Hamburg realised the potential of its covered shopping centres by creating an Arcades Quarter or District. Today, the entrance to the area is marked by large signage hanging over the roads into the area showing ‘Passagen Viertel.’

We asked locals for directions to the ‘Passagen Viertel’ and everyone knew where to send us. Slightly strangely for those of us who like the older arcades, the Mellin Passage, which is Hamburg’s oldest surviving arcade is NOT within the official boundaries of the ‘Passagen Viertel,’ and funnily enough those same passers-by, who were definitely locals, had never heard of Mellin Passage!

The Arcades District has its own website, which we’ll link to below, and it lists the various ‘passages’ that make up the ‘viertel.’ Two of them we have included here in An Arcades Project – Kaisergalerie and Galleria – as they either are vintage arcades or have been built with these in mind. Others are more modern builds, like the Hamburger Hof or created from other buildings like Alte Post; the Alsternhaus is actually an old department store, once run by Herr Tietz (of the TV period drama KaDeWe). And then there are what many European languages call ‘arkaden,’ but which are in fact arches lining a street and open to the outside air and temperatures, so not generally included in An Arcades Project.

Judging by the crowds of people shopping and just wandering the area, this initiative has been a fabulous success, an example which could be followed in other cities like Leeds or Cardiff, maybe?

My favourite shop today

Across the whole Arcades Quarter there are way too many shops to choose from, so I’m picking a little coffee shop in one of the arcades in the district, as it not only served up excellent coffee – and delicious German cheesecake – but also had a cool vibe and was situated in the perfect spot to people watch and have a good view of the arcade around it. So my choice is: Camping Coffee in Kaufmannshaus (Grosse Bleichen 31)

Is there a website for the Arcades Quarter?

Yes. A really good website with not only maps to show where the arcades are, but also a little bit of history on each building, and the shops and businesses that operate out of them. Just don’t forget that Hamburg’s vintage arcade gem, the Mellin Passage, is outside the official Passagenviertel or Arcades Quarter.