Das Auswanderermuseum BallinStadt Hamburg
Discover the stories of emigrants from Hamburg in the 19th and 20th centuries at this interactive museum, featuring multimedia exhibits and a family research center.
Planning your visit
BallinStadt stands where it happened. Between 1850 and 1939 around five million people passed through Hamburg on their way to America, and Albert Ballin — the Jewish shipping magnate who ran the Hamburg America Line — built an entire emigrant city on Veddel island to house them: dormitories, dining halls, a church, a synagogue, medical inspection halls. Emigrants were quarantined and examined here before boarding, partly for public health and partly because the shipping line was financially liable for anyone America turned back. The museum occupies reconstructed pavilions on the original site.
Three exhibition halls cover why people left — poverty, pogroms, political repression, failed harvests — the conditions of the crossing, and what waited on the other side, using reconstructed steerage quarters, personal documents, letters and multimedia. It is built deliberately around individual stories rather than statistics.
The family research centre is a substantial part of the appeal: Hamburg passenger lists are digitised and searchable on site, and visitors with German or Central European ancestry frequently find named relatives in the manifests.
It is a short S-Bahn ride from the city centre. Allow two hours, longer with genealogy research. The main booking is an entrance ticket. Current availability is listed below.
Before you book
Where is Das Auswanderermuseum BallinStadt Hamburg?
Das Auswanderermuseum BallinStadt Hamburg is in Hamburg, Germany. The map on this page marks its exact location.
How long should I allow for Das Auswanderermuseum BallinStadt Hamburg?
Allow two hours, longer with genealogy research. That is the time the collection itself takes at an unhurried pace, before any queue.
Do I need to book Das Auswanderermuseum BallinStadt Hamburg in advance?
Tickets can be bought on the door at quiet times, but booking ahead fixes the date and avoids the queue at busy ones. Live availability is shown on this page.
