Alster arcades

The Alsterarkaden in Hamburg , named after the architectural term arcade (Latin arcus: arch), go back to designs by Alexis de Chateauneuf for the new Hamburg town hall market .

history

The Alster Arcades around 1850

After the town hall was destroyed by the great fire of 1842, a new building was planned. To design the town hall market on the Alster's Mündungsfleet , the Alsterfleet , a basin, the Kleine Alster , was built in front of the lock bridge . Chateauneuf designed a round-arched arcade in the Italian style for the west side, the original paint of which, according to new findings, was ocher yellow, but which was later to be plastered white and has retained this characteristic appearance to this day. After various changes, the original condition was restored in 1951, the color remained white. The Alster Arcades are a prominent example of what is known as post - fire architecture .

The construction was carried out in the course of the former bird wall until 1843, the five-story houses behind it were built in the following years until 1846.

In the middle of the block between Schleusenbrücke, Jungfernstieg , Kleiner Alster and New Wall , a small passage was created, the Mellin Passage, which today is Hamburg's oldest shopping arcade. Older paintings in the Art Nouveau style have been preserved to this day. The name comes from a local grocer's shop.

On December 31, 1989, a fire broke out in one of the shops. A house burned down completely and had to be demolished; structural changes afterwards mainly affected the west side of the Neuer Wall. During the security and renovation work, the ceiling and wall painting of the Mellin Passage came to light, the design of which is very reminiscent of Alfons Mucha .

Today the Alster Arcades are part of the Alster hiking trail . They are continued with modern roofs, some of them arcade-like, continuously along the Alsterfleet to the Stadthausbrücke . In the further course the Elbe can be reached on foot along the Alsterfleet. With its corner location on the Neuer Wall shopping street , the Alsterarkaden are now considered the gateway to Hamburg's luxury mile. The tenants include retailers Wempe , Armani and Burberry .

In 2017 the Austrian Signa Holding acquired the Alsterarkaden.