Sternschanze () (lit. ''Star Sconce'') is a quarter in the center of

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

(Germany) within the Altona borough. In 2014, the population was 7,776 on an area of 0.6 sq km with a density of 14,113 inhabitants per sq km.Ein kunterbuntes Viertel mit eigensinnigen Bewohnern
Hamburg.de, in German After

Reeperbahn The Reeperbahn () is a street and entertainment district in Hamburg's St. Pauli district, one of the two centres of Hamburg's nightlife (the other being Sternschanze) and also the city's major red-light district. In German, it is also nickn ...

, it is Hamburg's best known entertainment and nightlife district. It is also known as ''Schanzenviertel'' () and nicknamed ''Schanze'' ().

History

The name of the quarter originates from a

sconce Sconce may refer to: *Sconce (fortification), a military fortification *Sconce (light fixture) *Sconcing, imposing a penalty in the form of drink *Sconce Point Fort Victoria is a former military fort on the Isle of Wight, England (), built to ...

(German:

Schanze A ''schanze'' () is, according to the specialist terminology of German fortification construction, an independent fieldwork, that is frequently used in the construction of temporary (not permanent) field fortifications.Rüstow: ''Militärisches Han ...

) formed like a star which has been built in the area in 1682 in front of the

Hamburg Wallring The Wallring () is a semi-circular urban ensemble encircling the inner city of Hamburg. It consists of a four-lane ring road with a total length of and a continuous built-up street front on its inner side. The outer perimeter is – for the larg ...

. From the 1930s to the 1970s the quarter was home for a large number of working-class people. Since the 1970s, families and students have started to move into the area. It is nearly, but not fully, congruent with the entertainment district of Schanzenviertel with its many bars and clubs, which is dubbed "Schanze" by its inhabitants. In the local slang, residents here live "in the sconce" ("in der Schanze"). The former concert house/theater building

Rote Flora The Rote Flora is a former theatre in the Sternschanze district of Hamburg, Germany. It has been squatted since November 1989 as a self-managed social centre. The collective said in 2001 "We are the 'UFO in the neighbourhood.' The black hole ...

(built in 1888 as Flora concert hall) is also located here, at the street of Schulterblatt. It was

squatted Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

by leftist groups in 1989, after there were plans since 1987/88 to rebuild it as a new musical theater. These plans were later realized near

Holstenstraße station Holstenstraße is a railway station in Hamburg, Germany, located in the quarter of Altona-Nord in the borough of Altona. It is served by the rapid transit trains of the Hamburg S-Bahn network as well as AKN regional commuter trains. The station ...

Neue Flora Neue Flora ''(Stage Theater Neue Flora)'' is a musical theatre in Hamburg, owned and operated by Stage Entertainment. History In 1987 Stella Entertainment was looking for a new musical theatre in Hamburg, after their success with ''Cats'' in t ...

. Since the beginning of the occupation, Rote Flora was used for cultural events by the squatting groups. In 2000, the building was acquired by real-estate agent Klausmartin Kretschmer, under a contract where the city of Hamburg prohibited him to make any alterations. Because he planned to make alterations anyway, conflicts arose with residents. In 2014, Hamburg city re-bought the building to avoid further conflicts; the building was renovated in 2015 by volunteers. Since the beginning of the new millennium, Sternschanze is ''en vogue'' and subject to

gentrification Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and urban planning, planning. Gentrification ...

. Nevertheless, political demonstrations, mostly by leftist groups, take place here and sometimes lead to clashes with the police, frequently on 1 May ( German Labour Day).

Graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

paintings can be found on many walls throughout the quarter. In 2008, the area of Schanzenviertel, which formerly was cut into three parts by the boundaries of

Hamburg-Mitte Hamburg-Mitte (Hamburg Central) is one of the seven boroughs of Hamburg, Germany, covering most of the city's urban center. The quarters of Hamburg-Altstadt and Neustadt cover much of the city's historic core. In 2020 the population was 301,231. ...

Eimsbüttel Eimsbüttel () is one of the seven boroughs (Bezirke) of Hamburg, Germany. In 2020 the population was 269,118. History On March 1, 2008 Eimsbüttel lost part of its area to the borough Altona where it formed the Sternschanze quarter. Geography ...

, and Altona, was merged into the new quarter of Sternschanze, which since then has belonged only to the Altona borough.

Politics

These are the results of Sternschanze in the Hamburg state election:

Geography

Sternschanze is located between the quarters of

St. Pauli St. Pauli (Sankt Pauli; ) is a quarter of the city of Hamburg belonging to the centrally located Hamburg-Mitte borough. Situated on the right bank of the Elbe river, the nearby Landungsbrücken is a northern part of the port of Hamburg. St. ...

Altona-Altstadt is a quarter in Hamburg (Germany) that belongs to the Altona borough. The quarter's boundaries are congruent with the historic center of what has been the city of Altona until 1937. History Altona was founded in 1535 and became a city in 16 ...

, and

Rotherbaum Rotherbaum () is a quarter of Eimsbüttel, a borough of Hamburg, Germany. In 2020 the population was 17,114. In German, "roter Baum" means ''red tree''. The "th", which in general was abolished in the spelling reform of 1900, was preserved in name ...

Transportation

Sternschanze station is serviced by

Hamburg S-Bahn The Hamburg S-Bahn is a suburban commuter railway network in the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. Together, the S-Bahn, the Hamburg U-Bahn, the AKN railway and the regional railway form the backbone of railway public transport in the city and the s ...

(lines S11, S21, S31) and

U-Bahn Rapid transit in Germany consists of four U-Bahn systems and fourteen S-Bahn systems. The U-Bahn commonly understood to stand for Untergrundbahn (''underground railway'') are conventional rapid transit systems that run mostly underground, while ...

trains ( U3 line), Feldstraße - which is officially located in neighbouring

quarter - by the underground line U3 only. Schlump station is located on the north eastern boundaries of the Sternschanze quarter and served by underground lines U2 and U3.

References

External links

Sternschanze
at Hamburg.de, in German {{Authority control Altona, Hamburg Entertainment districts in Germany Quarters of Hamburg