The Elbphilharmonie concert hall is getting back a piece of the Kaispeicher A’s legacy – and HHLA is giving it a helping hand. In front of the quayside warehouse, three DEMAG semi-gantry cranes that ran on tracks stretched out their 20-metre-long jibs until 2007. These industrial monuments were restored by the non-profit “Jugend in Arbeit” association and, at their former location, are intended to commemorate the history of today’s Elbphilharmonie.
Between 4th and 5th of October, the “HHLA III” floating crane will collect the three cranes, which each weigh 66 tonnes, from the Bremer Kai quay (Port Museum) and transport them one by one across the river Elbe. As the former owner of the Kaispeicher A warehouse, HHLA will bear the majority of the costs, just as it did previously when transporting the cranes to the Bremer Kai. The semi-gantry cranes were manufactured for HHLA by DEMAG in 1964. They ran on tracks that were only laid along the ground on one side. The second track was attached to the wall of the warehouse, four metres up.
The original Kaispeicher A quayside warehouse (also known simply as Kaiserspeicher) was largely destroyed in the Second World War and was replaced by a new building designed by the renowned architect, Werner Kallmorgen, in 1963. The warehouse was the only one in Hamburg to be located on a quay for ocean-going vessels. Using the DEMAG cranes, cargo could be moved directly between ship and warehouse. Since the early 1970s, however, less and less coffee and cocoa was stored here. Like most general cargo, it was increasingly shipped in containers.