As a harbour and commercial centre, Hamburg was shaped respectively by the German Empire, Weimar Republic, NS dictatorship, British occupation and as a city state of the Federal Republic. The exhibition presents the wide-ranging events and developments from the period of the Kaisers to the eve of our new millennium. Here, you will see how political change influenced the living environment and everyday lives of the people of Hamburg.

The four key themes democratic rights, changes in living conditions, Hamburg’s development as a site of industry and commerce and the changing cityscape are presented largely in chronological order. Visitors can also form an impression of the private lives of people in Hamburg from the Empire until the 1990ies.

A living room of the Kaiser period, a milk shop of the 1930ies, a bomb shelter of the 2nd world war, a 1950ies living room, a flat-share community around 1972 and a 1990ies designer loft are examples of the continuously changing living cultures and conditions of the city’s inhabitants.