Spreehafen: on track for opening

The dike behind, sweeping views across the water and the Hamburg skyline - that's what visitors to the Spreehafen experience standing on its south bank, which is much-frequented for recreational use. Some construction is left to be done to further improve the already attractive riverbank and make it more accessible: On Wednesday, 20 June 2012 IBA Hamburg invited guests to find out about this project in a talk with Hans-Jochen Hinz, Director of the State Agency for Roads, Bridges and Waterways, Harald Kreft, Director of the Hamburg Port Authority's Port Rail division and Andy Grote, District Manager for Hamburg-Mitte, and also to celebrate the start of construction. Three broad dike stairs, bike ramps, redesigned access to Stübenplatz and the new Ernst-August-Schleuse ferry terminal are to be built in 2012, and in mid-December the extended 73 ferry line will commence service. By the time IBA Hamburg's 'Year of Presentations' begins in 2013, the customs fencing at the Spreehafen will have been entirely removed. What's more, the new info station is a permanent, visible landmark providing a wealth of interesting facts about the IBA project.

Hamburg, 20 June 2012 - "The opening of the Spreehafen has finally given the residents of Wilhelmsburg direct access to the water and the harbour. The fall of this barrier comes as a reward for citizens' years of struggle, increasing quality of life in Wilhelmsburg," said Andy Grote, district manager for Hamburg-Mitte. Project participants, government representatives and many other guests gathered in the morning to celebrate the start of the last major construction phase after taking a walk together through the Reiherstieg area. Additional dike crossings for pedestrians and cyclists will be improving accessibility. Open-air steps for walking and sitting, ramps and a new traffic light create a convenient little transition area between the harbour and the Stübenplatz. Two other dike crossings and a new pedestrian light make it easier to get down to the water along the Harburger Chaussee. The Spreehafen is being opened in stages, and upon completion will be a sculpted recreational landscape for the principal enjoyment of local residents. IBA director Uli Hellweg commented: "This project fulfils a long-held wish of residents and associations, and the planned ferry stop will furthermore directly connect Wilhelmsburg to Landungsbrücken. The new open-air steps in the green corridor on the way to the bend in the Spreehafen are within view of Stübenplatz, the bustling heart of the Reiherstieg subdistrict. This design creates an inviting avenue for getting to the harbour from downtown."

This new path from the Spreehafen to Stübenplatz will be suitable for bicycle and pram traffic as well. Due to construction, the passage from the greenspace at Ernst-August-Kanal linking the Veringstrasse with the Hafenrandstrasse embankment will be completely closed from 15 October to 11 November. During this time the Spreehafen will only be accessible by detour via the customs station and the Georg-Wilhelm-Strasse/Hafenrandstrasse. Closure is necessary to erect noise barriers and build the walkway. Currently, a temporary stair provides access. The LSBG, Hamburg's State Agency for Roads, Bridges and Waterways, is in charge of realising the new access ways to the Spreehafen. LSBG director Hans-Jochen Hinz: "The LSBG has demonstrated superbly how flood control and urban renewal are not mutually exclusive objectives, through projects in the downtown area, on the island Veddel and in Finkenwerder. Here at the Spreehafen it's a great opportunity to make people intrigued about what's behind the dike. The dike will become a place for scenic views, without compromising the strength of its structure. This being the fiftieth anniversary of the flood of 1962, we are acutely aware of the importance of flood control."

By opening up the Spreehafen, International Building Exhibition Hamburg is responding to a decades-long demand by the adjacent city subdistricts. People going for walks or cycling along the Spreehafen enjoy an authentic harbour atmosphere combined with industrial charm - long dikes and polder walls, mountains of cocoa stored in huge halls, barges and other harbour traffic on the water, willows growing along the banks, and shelducks walking on the mud. The 4.5 km walk around the Spreehafen is one of the best-kept secrets of the harbour, managed by Hamburg Port Authority. Harald Kreft, Hamburg Port Authority board member and director of HPA Port Rail, commented: "Port rail has a long history at the Spreehafen. Its immediate proximity to Wilhelmsburg makes it a place where the harbour and the city are closely interwoven. The HPA is aware of the responsibility it holds because of this. I am pleased how we are now entering a new chapter of this history by modernising our location on Spreehafen island. The Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) is setting an example for ecological and sustainable building by modernising our workshop and realising Hamburg's first passive office building."

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For further information please contact:
IBA Hamburg GmbH, Kristina Hödl, Director of Media Relations,
kristina.hoedl@iba-hamburg.de, Tel.: +49 (0)40 / 226 227 335, or
Anna Vietinghoff, Media Relations, anna.vietinghoff@iba-hamburg.de, Tel: +49 (0)40 / 226 227-331 or to presse@iba-hamburg.de