electrum - The Museum of Electricity Around one thousand electrical devices from this era can be admired in electrum.

  • © ThisIsJulia Photgraphy
  • © Electrum 2019
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    © electrum
  • © Electrum 2019
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    © electrum
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    © ThisIsJulia Photgraphy
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    © electrum

Here you can experience the electrified world of past generations and immerse yourself in the past with a variety of historical exhibits

The Electrum Museum offers a captivating journey through the lives of our ancestors - parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents - back to a time when electrical marvels such as toasters, vacuum cleaners, and radios first found their place in households.

History of electricity in Hamburg

The people of Hamburg made their first acquaintance with electricity as early as 1750, whenwhen daring individuals could experience the electrifying sensation of a showman's "electrifying machine" near the Millerntor for just a shilling.

It then took over a century before electricity was used industrially for the first time in the Hanseatic city. In 1873, the "Norddeutsche Affinerie" (today Aurubis) used a machine for electrolytic metal extraction, a milestone in the industrial application of electricity in Hamburg. In 1894, the "Hamburgische Electricitäts-Werke" was founded, which took over the power supply for the entire city area, another step towards an electrified future. In 1882, the first electric street lamps were installed on Hamburg's Rathausmarkt. Today, it is impossible to envision our everyday life without the indispensable presence of electrical energy.

Visit to the electrum Museum

The electrum brings this impressive history of electricity in Hamburg back to life. Here, you can explore toasters, vacuum cleaners, radios, televisions, and various other household appliances from eras past, along with artifacts and tools closely intertwined with the history of the current power distribution network operator, "Stromnetz Hamburg GmbH.

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    © Hamburger Kunsthalle, Foto: Jann Wilken

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    © Suzuki Kiitsu, Tänzerinnen (Detail), Japan, 1. H. 19. Jh., Hängerolle, MK&G, Erworben mit Mitteln der Campe’schen Historischen Kunststiftung aus der Sammlung Walter Gebhard, Foto: MK&G/Tobias Eckmann

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