Ernst Merck Hall

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Ernst-Merck-Halle was an exhibition and large event hall in Hamburg. In the period from December 1950 to the end of June 1986 it was the venue for many events. With a capacity of around 6,000 spectators, it offered space for concerts by Status Quo , Bill Haley , the Beatles and the Rolling Stones , party events with James Last , boxing matches with Norbert Grupe (Wilhelm von Homburg), Gerhard Hecht and Willi Hoepner . The opening event for the IGA 1953 was broadcast on German television.

history

Between 1869 and around 1943 there was already a hall in Hamburg that was named "Ernst Merck" or "Merck". It was located on the grounds of the zoological garden , which existed there until 1930. Ernst Freiherr von Merck , who initiated the founding of the zoological garden in 1860 and became its first president, died unexpectedly just 10 weeks after it opened in July 1863. By resolution of the General Assembly of the Zoological Garden in 1864, a large winter building was to be built, inside which a hall with a bust of him should be located. It was probably completed around 1869. The erected bust of Ernst Merck gave the hall its name. In 1921 the first "Northwest German Spring Fair for the entire needs of hotels, restaurants, cafés and large kitchens" took place here, today's Internorga . During the Second World War, the “old” Ernst-Merck-Halle was destroyed by bombing.

In the reconstruction phase after the Second World War , the Ernst-Merck-Halle was built as an exhibition hall on today's St. Petersburger Strasse (then part of Jungiusstrasse; address: Jungiusstrasse 13). The logging of trees for the construction site on the former cemetery site on Jungiusstrasse began in September 1949. On December 4, 1950, the hall was opened by Mayor Max Brauer . The first major event in the Ernst-Merck-Halle took place on December 25, 1950. As part of the German Middleweight Championship in boxing, the fight between Peter Müller from Cologne and Kuddel Schmidt (Hamburg) was held here in front of 6,000 spectators. With an area of ​​6400 m², it offered space for events and concerts with up to 6000 spectators. As part of the expansion of the exhibition grounds, the hall was demolished at the end of June 1986. With the exception of the Hamburg sports hall , there were hardly any suitable venues for large-scale concerts in Hamburg until the Color-Line-Arena was built in 2002 .

Events

The Who in the Ernst-Merck-Halle on August 12, 1972: Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, Keith Moon

In addition to exhibitions, numerous major events were held in the hall: elections for Miss Germany , boxing events and major concerts. (Selection):

  • December 25, 1950: First (large) event in the Ernst-Merck-Halle: German middleweight championship in boxing (Peter Müller versus Kuddel Schmidt).
  • October 15, 1952: Louis Armstrong (2 concerts)
  • April 30, 1953: TV broadcast of the opening event of the IGA 1953 with speeches by Federal President Heuss , Mayor Brauer and the Philharmonic State Orchestra .
  • October 28, 1958: A Bill Haley & His Comets concert in front of 6,000 listeners was canceled after 35 minutes (55 minutes were planned) due to rioting. The estimated property damage was 20,000 DM.
  • October 5, 1962: German middleweight championship in boxing ( Hans-Werner Wohlers versus Peter Müller)
  • September 13, 1965: The Rolling Stones (2 shows)
  • June 26, 1966: The Beatles' Bravo Blitz tour (2 shows)
  • September 16, 1969, The Moody Blues
  • March 28th / 29th 1970, Pop & Blues Festival on Easter weekend with Alexis Korner , The Nice , Steamhammer u. a.
  • August 12, 1972, The Who , The Who Tour 1972
  • November 12, 1972, Pink Floyd , Dark Side of the Moon Tour
  • May 17, 1977, Bob Marley & The Wailers , Exodus Tour
  • October 4th, 1980, Kiss ( Unmasked Tour ) with support act Iron Maiden
  • May 16, 1982, Queen
  • January 27, 1986, AC / DC (Fly On The Wall tour)
  • January 31 and February 1, 1986, double concert James Last Orchestra (last concert in the Ernst-Merck-Halle)
  • between February 1986 and the demolition in June 1986 individual trade fairs, last trade fair: Interfab (international trade fair for medical and institutional requirements)

literature

About the creation of the old hall in the 1860s

Web links

Commons : Ernst-Merck-Halle  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ In contemporary literature, the name: "Merck-Halle" is predominantly used. Edmund Goeze: The rose exhibition in Hamburg from July 9 to 12, 1886 . In: Hamburg garden and flower newspaper . 42nd year, Robert Kittler, Hamburg 1886, pp. 386, 394
  2. ↑ 1860 elevated to the hereditary Austrian nobility and baron by Emperor Franz Joseph I.
  3. ↑ "..., the central section of the large winter building is ... completed ...", see Franz Hilgendorf, Guide through the Zoological Garden in Hamburg , 15th edition, 1869, p. VIII
  4. ↑ Hamburger Abendblatt: Life in Pictures. December 27, 1950, accessed April 26, 2020 .
  5. ↑ The history. From 1951: The Ernst-Merck-Halle and the exhibition grounds. Hamburg Messe, accessed on December 6, 2018 .
  6. ↑ Program of Thursday, April 30, 1953. tvprogramme.net, accessed on November 28, 2014 .
  7. ^ Ns: Concert brawl. Rock'n'Roll riots in Hamburg's Ernst-Merck-Halle. Die Zeit, October 30, 1958, retrieved on November 28, 2014 .
  8. ^ Uwe Bahnsen: When Hamburg once lost its composure. 50 years ago, young people dismantled the furniture in the Ernst-Merck-Halle during a concert by the American rock musician Bill Haley. Welt am Sonntag, October 26, 2008, accessed November 28, 2014 .
  9. ↑ Four downfalls and “Buttje” Wohlers gave up. In: Hamburger Abendblatt. October 6, 1962, accessed April 26, 2020 .
  10. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoBGkyDh9gA
  11. ↑ Nights In White Satin With The Moody Blues. In: Poster. Karsten Jahnke , 1969, accessed on May 26, 2019 .

Coordinates: 53 ° 33 ′ 37 ″  N , 9 ° 58 ′ 46 ″  E