Museum der Arbeit

Current exhibitions

About the museum

The idea for a museum about the working world of "ordinary people" emerged within Hamburg's civil society in the 1970s. A museum association was founded in 1980; in 1982 the project was attached to the Museum für Hamburgische Geschichte, and the grounds of the New-York Hamburger Gummi-Waaren Compagnie in Barmbek were leased. From 1985 there were open days, printing courses, and temporary exhibitions.

After the Senate confirmed the site in 1987, the Museum der Arbeit was declared Hamburg's seventh state museum in 1989 and has been independent since January 1990. The permanent exhibition in the "Neue Fabrik" (New Factory) opened in early 1997; in 1999 the museum became a public-law foundation, and since 2008 it has belonged to the Stiftung Historische Museen Hamburg.

The listed factory complex, dating from 1871 onward, is one of the oldest surviving industrial sites in the city. The "Alte Fabrik" (Old Factory) is used for events, the museum workshops operate in the boiler house, and the gatehouse, renovated in 2025, houses the freely accessible Zukunftswerkstatt (Future Workshop) on the work of tomorrow. In the courtyard on the Osterbekkanal stands the 380-ton cutting wheel of the TRUDE tunnel boring machine, which dug the fourth tube of the Elbe Tunnel.

The museum's trademark is its demonstrations of historical techniques: staff show type casting, hand and machine typesetting, and letterpress printing, and on Mondays open workshops invite visitors to join in.

Highlights

• TRUDE cutting wheel (14.2 m diameter, 380 t) in the museum courtyard
• Graphic trades section with daily machine demonstrations
• Listed factory of the New-York Hamburger Gummi-Waaren Compagnie
• Zukunftswerkstatt in the gatehouse, free of charge
• Working Menck cable excavator from 1937 and historic traveling crane
• Its own landing stage for Alster steamers on the Osterbekkanal

Permanent exhibitions

• Grafisches Gewerbe – Letterpress printing from handcraft to mechanization, with working typesetting and printing machines and regular demonstrations.
• New-York Hamburger Gummi-Waaren Compagnie – From raw rubber to industrial production, at the historic site of the factory where the museum is housed today.
• TRUDE und Objekte auf dem Museumshof – The cutting wheel of the TRUDE Elbe tunnel borer, a cable excavator from 1937, a road roller, and a historic traveling crane as outdoor technical monuments.

Founded

1990

Operated by

Stiftung Historische Museen Hamburg

Director

Prof. Dr. Rita Müller

Admission & discounts

Free admission also for members of the press and members of the Deutscher Museumsbund, ICOM, BVGD, BBK, the Deutscher Verband für Kunstgeschichte, the Verein für Hamburgische Geschichte, and the SHMH friends' associations. Reductions only with proof. Children's birthday party (ages 6–12, max. 8 children, 2 hours) €130.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours
• Easy-to-read materials
• Audio description: no information

Certified under the "Reisen für Alle" (Travel for All) program and assessed by Kultur Perlen. Accessible main entrance with doorbell and automatic door, elevators to all three exhibition floors, wheelchair-accessible restroom and baby changing facilities on the first floor, free loan wheelchairs and folding stools. Accessible parking space in the museum parking lot (access via Maurienstraße). Tours in German Sign Language (DGS), for blind and visually impaired people, for deaf people, and for people with dementia via the Museumsdienst Hamburg; short text in Easy Language.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations
• Stroller-friendly
• Baby changing facilities
• Playground / play area: not available
• Kids’ birthday parties

Children's programs for ages 6 and up (children participate without their parents), daycare programs, and children's birthday parties for ages 6 to 12. Scavenger hunt through the building and smartphone audio tour; on the second floor, telegraph stations and old typewriters to try out, and objects to touch on all floors. Strollers are allowed in the exhibition (elevator), baby changing table in the large restroom on the first floor. No playground of its own, but one across the Goldbekkanal within walking distance. Scooters and balance bikes are allowed in the courtyard.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop
• Lockers

Torhauskantine in the gatehouse (lunch specials, coffee, evening drinks). Museum shop with catalogs, specialist books, postcards, and posters. Larger bags and backpacks go into the lockers. Scientific reference library on Hamburg's social history freely accessible.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Corporate events
• Weddings / ceremonies

Up to 350 guests.

Seminar room in the Neue Fabrik (up to 60 people), fourth floor of the Neue Fabrik (700 m², up to 350 people, only when no special exhibition is on), first floor of the Alte Fabrik (505 m², up to 200 people), second floor of the Alte Fabrik (400 m², up to 200 people, including weddings), Zukunftswerkstatt in the gatehouse (up to 50 people, outside opening hours), and about 5,000 m² of courtyard with a landing stage for Alster steamers. Guided tours and demonstrations can be booked.

Plan your visit