German Customs Museum

The German Customs Museum is located in Speicherstadt and tells the story of how Germany managed trade and border control throughout history. The galleries hold documents, tools, uniforms, and goods that show how customs officers worked and what they inspected at different times.

The museum opened in 1992, continuing the work of an earlier customs museum established in Berlin in 1927 that was destroyed during World War II. After the war, Hamburg became the new home for preserving and displaying this part of Germany's trade history.

The museum sits in the Speicherstadt warehouse district, where visitors can see how trade and customs regulations shaped this iconic area over centuries. The location itself tells the story of how goods flowed through Hamburg and how officials controlled what entered and left the city.

The museum sits right along the Zollkanal, where you can see the old customs ship Oldenburg moored outside the main building. Plan to spend about 1 to 2 hours inside, though the ship visit adds extra time if you want to explore both.

You can step aboard the Oldenburg, a real customs vessel that spent decades patrolling the Elbe River to catch smugglers and inspect shipments. The ship still shows the original crew quarters and work areas, giving you a sense of what daily life was like for customs officers at sea.