Harrys Hamburger Hafenbasar, Maritime museum in HafenCity, Hamburg, Germany
Harrys Hamburger Hafenbasar is a museum holding over 365,000 objects from around the world, housed inside a former floating harbor crane. The collection fills 33 themed rooms and displays maritime treasures alongside items gathered from many countries.
Harry Rosenberg, a former sailor, founded the museum in 1952 as a small shop selling stamps, coins, and seafaring souvenirs. The modest shop grew over time into a large collection that eventually moved into the harbor crane building.
The collection shows objects from Africa, Asia, and South America gathered over many decades. These items reflect the trade routes and connections created through shipping and seafaring.
The museum sits in HafenCity and is quite compact, so you can see everything in a couple of hours. The rooms are narrow but clearly marked, making it easy to find your way around.
What makes this museum different is that visitors can actually touch the displayed objects and buy many of them. This approach makes it the only place of its kind where the line between exhibition and shop blurs.
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