Numerous Freemasons have appeared in the history of the city since 1737, and many streets and squares in Hamburg have been named for them. Important points in their lives can be reached on nine historical walking tours of the city. Besides several mayors, merchants and actors who rendered outstanding services to Hamburg and who were Freemasons, there was Gabriel Riesser (1806-1863), a simple member of city parliament and the first Jewish judge in Germany who campaigned for religious freedom during his lifetime. He accomplished the legal equality of Jews in the Frankfurt Constitution which was then adopted in the Constitution of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg.

Why has Hamburg’s heart long beat for different cultures and Hamburg’s harbour with its trade relations led to contacts throughout the world? Who knows that the Michel, the city’s landmark, was designed and built by the Freemason Ernst Georg Sonnin in 1750? 32 panels and 14 reliefs in the entrance of Hamburg’s city hall inform visitors. One can follow well-known and forgotten personalities through the last 275 years and learn a lot about the history(-ies) of Freemasons and their brotherhood. The exhibition displays surprising contributions to the development of Hamburg and the eastward opening of the ‟Gateway to the World": For his contribution to the peaceful revolution with the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, Kurt Masur, Music Director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra (1991-2002), was awarded the Cultural Prize of the Freemasons 2012 in Leipzig. The award in our anniversary year recognises his commitment to humanity  and building bridges between cultures.

275 Jahre Freimaurer in Hamburg  

Hamburg City Hall, Entrance

15. – 30. September 2012  

Open: Weekdays 7:00 – 19:00