8

It‘s closing time!

In order to protect the Hamburg against attacks the city gates were closed at nightfall and only opened again at daybreak. Residents who did not make it home in time were forced to spend the night outside the city walls and were frequently robbed. It is easy to imagine that sunset caused haste and sometimes even panic among those who had to return in time. Only in the 19th century, when industrialisation accelerated the city‘s expansion, large parts of the city walls were slighted; since then revellers can saunter home without the fear of being excluded.

7

Ping!

The triangle really is up to date. In German according to the Duden it can be used with all three genders although colloquially it is usually considered female – as are other percussion instruments like cymbals, drums, bells, rattles, fiddles …
Within the orchestra the triangle is used to add highlights to the sound; due to its penetrating tone it is only used sparingly for accentuation. If occasionally the sound in the Elbphilharmonie is less moderate, the audience can demand suitable ear protection at the visitors service – they will be issued free of charge because some events may damage health and hearing in particular due to their hight sound volume. The relevant paragraph is part of the house rules under the keyword „Schallpegel“ (noise level).

6

Yes, I do

It is definitely worth turning the gaze upwards; the many copper pinnacles that have turned green in the course of time are useful, beautiful and show an amazing variety of shapes. The pinnacles protected the winches installed at the outside of the pediments; they were used to lift the enormous loads carried by horse carts and barges into the storage lofts. Such lifting devices were indispensable as there were no goods lifts in the entire Speicherstadt. The maintainance of the hydraulic capstans was in the hands of the capstan guard (Windenwärter) who in return enjoyed the privilege to live right in the middle of the Speicherstadt – in the House of the Capstan Guard (Windenwärterhäuschen).
Today this pretty building also known as the Wasserschlösschen (water palace) is a restaurant and tea shop. Since 2012 it is even possible to get married here as it has officially become a branch of the city‘s register office.

5

Father of the swans

A pronouncement in 1664 sanctioned any insult of swans in Hamburg, though it remains unclear what kind of actual offense this might refer to. According to legend swans are essential for the welfare of the city; as long as they are seen on the river Alster the freedom and economic success of the Hanse town was secured. This also explains why in 1674 a most unusual profession was invented to ensure their well-being – the Schwanenvater (literally „father of swans“). His official task is to take care of the swans living on the river. In addition he cares for other animals, too, be it the rescue of seals or storks. The Schwanenvater provides for ill or injured swans and fosters orphaned fledglings, but his most important task is to capture the swans in November of every year and to transport them in blue boats to their wintering grounds at the Eppendorf mill pond. Here the water surface does not freeze over due to a specially installed system of submerged pumps. The pair of swans adorning the Haus der Seefahrt (”House of Seafaring“), however, does not have to be transported to these wintering grounds.

4

Syzygium aromaticum

The train of thoughts behind the popular name of this spice is easily understood – its German name, Nelke, does not refer to the flower (carnation), but is derived from a Middle High German term “negelein/Nägelchen” (small nail). Like the English “clove” it alludes to the shape of the spice that resembles a nail; during the Middle ages cloves were therefore regarded as a symbol of the passion of Christ.
The evergreen clove tree originates in the Moluccas, aptly named Spice Islands by European explorers. It grows to a hight of up to 10 metres; its dried buds, the cloves, were known in Europe since the early middle ages. For a long time the Dutch traders monopolised spice trade with India; their ships brought cloves to European markets.
The quality is best examined by putting a sample into a bowl of water – while the good, oily cloves sink to the bottom of the bowl or at least float vertically, low quality cloves float horizontally on the surface.
An Indonesian miniature ship made entirely from cloves is on display in the Spice Museum; it served to promote sales and was a trade present. But a simple chain of threaded cloves is pretty, too, and spreads its pleasant smell for quite some time.

3

Muscle factory
Barges were the pack camels of the harbour. They carried freight to and from the sea-going ships and since 1888 also into the Speicherstadt. Each barge was commanded by a lighterman who usually also was its owner. He had to stow the entire cargo in the barge himself and had to move it to its destination by muscle power as the barges did not have any drive. The barge was either punted or pulled along the quay walls using a large hook on a pole. This earned the lightermen the nickname “barge pusher”.
In the beginning the barges were open; in rain and snow the cargo was covered with tarpaulins. In the course of time more valuable goods were transported and a special type of barge developed; in it the portholes were closed with wooden planks. They were popularly known as “rattling lid barges” reflecting the characteristic noise they made – a sliding lid made from aluminium reduced the sound in later years before the beginning era of the large container ships in the late 1960s caused the barges to loose importance.

2

Duty-free treat

Several hundred kilogramms of coffee samples left the post office No. 14 every day. It was only coffee that was dropped into the blue special letterbox used until 1939; today it can be viewed in the museum of the Speicherstadt. The letterbox with its integrated scales took 30 kilogramms of raw coffee samples. An elaborate mechanism then locked the box and set of an accoustic signal to empty the box.
The letter box was also well secured against thieves – the opening was especially shaped to prevent anybody from getting his hands on the precious beans once they were posted.

1

Punctual attraction

Clocks are commonly known to indicate time. But at sea a chronometer had another use. With their help it was possible to determine the longitude and thus the exact position of the ship – but only if the ship’s clock kept good time. The tower of the Kaiserspeicher in Hamburg, a widely visible landmark of the city, therefore housed a so-called time ball. Every day at 11.50 it was pulled up and exactly at noon it dropped down three meters. The captain on his ship was able to set the clock to Hamburg time and afterwards start his journey. The ball was regulated by the observatory at Millerntor via a subterranean wire connection until in 1934 radio signals took over the time check. A number of historical views of Hamburg show the storehouse and its unusual clock – today the new Elbphilharmonie occupies this site.