Home / Hamburg / Dark History
Category 8 of 11 · Hamburg

A fountain in the city hall courtyard counts 8,000 dead.

Street names with a double meaning, memorials, places that were removed — the chapters that make a city honest.

Hamburg · 3 spots≈ 1.5 h on footSeal for the complete set

Which Hamburg places tell the difficult history?

A city that shows only its good chapters is lying. Hamburg has three places in this set, and each stands for something easy to walk past. In the courtyard of the city hall the Hygieia fountain has run since 1896, built to commemorate the cholera epidemic of 1892 that killed more than 8,000 people and forced the city to rethink its water supply. In Altona a memorial at the district court marks 17 July 1932: during an SA march through densely populated streets, 18 people were shot dead that day, and it entered history as Altona Bloody Sunday. In Wilhelmsburg a flak tower built between 1942 and 1944 by forced labour now carries a new name and a new purpose you learn on site.

The questions here are entrances, not quiz items — and the stamp is a quiet one, earned within 75 metres, with nothing to celebrate.

Free is the app with one city — every spot, every stamp, and games with up to 6 devices; after that, each additional city and each self-built game costs.

Spots in Hamburg

A fountain, a courthouse and a tower in Wilhelmsburg.

+1 more spot — revealed only when you get there. Every spot is a card with its own question.

Why does a city game include memorial sites at all?

Because leaving them out would be the dishonest choice. All 3 spots here are public, free and already part of the city; the difference is that most visitors pass them without knowing what they mark. The Hygieia fountain has been in the city hall courtyard since 1896, and almost nobody who photographs it knows it counts more than 8,000 dead.

What happened at Altona Bloody Sunday?

On 17 July 1932, an SA march was routed through the dense working-class streets of Altona and 18 people were shot dead. The memorial at the district court marks it. The card in front of it asks about the route the march was permitted to take — the detail that turned a provocation into a massacre.

Is this suitable for a school class?

Yes, and it is used that way. A teacher builds the route in the group portal, adds their own questions and starts teams with a six-digit join code; pupils join as guests, without accounts. Afterwards the Nature set is the deliberate opposite — seven green spots, and the lightest category in the city.

Can I play this with a class or a group?

Yes. Every category also runs as a live game: a teacher or host builds the route in the group portal, picks the stops, adds their own questions and sends teams off with a six-digit join code. Store products are Friends Game – up to 6 devices (€14.99), Private Game – up to 10 (€49.99), Class Game – up to 35 (€399) and Large Group Game – up to 100 (€699). Planning and preparing a route costs nothing.

Where do I go next?

Two neighbours to this set: City History in Hamburg and Music History in Hamburg. All eleven Hamburg collections sit on the Hamburg hub page, and the German version of this page is at /de/staedte/hamburg/dark-history/.

Some stamps are quiet. This set is all of them.

Stamp every Dark History spot in Hamburg on site and the holographic category seal goes into your passport for good.

 Download on the App Store
FAQ

Before you go.

How many dark-history spots are in Hamburg?

Three — two are named on this page, the third in Wilhelmsburg stays hidden until you stand in front of it.

What does the Hygieia fountain commemorate?

The cholera epidemic of 1892, which killed more than 8,000 people in Hamburg. The fountain was erected in the city hall courtyard in 1896.

What was Altona Bloody Sunday?

On 17 July 1932, 18 people were shot dead during an SA march through Altona. A memorial at the district court marks the day.

Is this suitable for school groups?

Yes. Teachers build the route in the group portal, add their own questions and start teams with a six-digit join code.

More categories

Keep collecting: City History or Music History — or back to all Hamburg categories.