Germany · Hamburg – Elbphilharmonie (Series: Federal States II (Bundesländer II), 1st issue)

Hamburg is both a city and a federal state and officially bears the name “Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg” (Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg). Its development is closely linked to the Elbe, maritime trade and the port. As a member of the Hanseatic League (Hanse), Hamburg maintained extensive trading relations. The port continues to shape the city’s economic and urban history, even though former port areas have increasingly been used for housing, offices and cultural institutions since the late 20th century.

In this context, HafenCity was developed on former port and warehouse sites. It includes the Elbphilharmonie at the western end of the district. The concert hall was built according to plans by the Swiss architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron and opened in January 2017. Its base is the former Kaispeicher A, a warehouse built in the 1960s. Its brick façades were preserved; above them, a glass structure with a curved roof was added. The building contains several concert halls, a hotel and apartments. The publicly accessible Plaza is located between the warehouse and the new structure. The large concert hall is designed according to the so-called vineyard principle: The audience tiers are arranged in terraces around the centrally located stage.

The choice of the building thus refers not only to the city’s musical life. It also represents the transformation of former port areas and combines Hamburg’s warehouse and trading tradition with its more recent urban development.

The 2023 issue opened the second German federal states series. Its predecessor series had presented all 16 states from 2006 to 2022, each with a building or landmark. The order is generally based on the rotating presidency of the Bundesrat. Hamburg’s First Mayor Peter Tschentscher served as President of the Bundesrat for the 2022/23 term. The coin was therefore not dedicated to an anniversary of the Elbphilharmonie, but to the representation of Hamburg within this series of federal states.