Schanze and Karo Districts

These desirables corners of town are eccentric, hip and political – thanks to their mixed population of alternative people, advertising executives, students and artists.

The Schanze: This multi-coloured area between the Schulterblatt, Schlachthof and the Stresemannstraße changed back in the ‘70s into a melting pot of foreigners and punks, artists and freaks. A lot of small stores where you can shop til you drop, kebab shops, second-hand shops, Portuguese cafés and the omnipresent Asian Bok snack restaurants characterise the street scene. In the ‘90s it developed such an attractive power – mostly on young people – that the district was positively drowned in hype.

If you want to get to know the Schanze, you can’t skip the Rote Flora. The dilapidated theatre on the Schulterblatt was for years the object of a sometimes dramatic protest by Schanze inhabitants against the construction of a musical theatre. Today the Flora is an autonomous cultural centre and a political meeting place. When concerts and parties are held, the queues extend out into the street. There is always a lot going on here in the evenings – pub- and club-wise the Schanze has been one of the best addresses in Hamburg for years. Some people complain that the formerly radical area has become respectable and commercial – a development which other areas in Hamburg have also experienced and are currently undergoing. Although the co-existence of a social flashpoint and party scene is certainly not without its problems, the district remains attractive.

If you are already on your way around the Schanze, you should take a quick detour into the Karo quarter situated between the old abattoir (Schlachthof) and the Feldstraße. Marktstraße is a shopping street for second-hand and designer clothes – very much in, but not exactly cheap. So maybe you would rather try your luck at one of the many flea markets in the area?