Old Elbe Tunnel (St. Pauli Elbtunnel)

The Old Elbe Tunnel opened in September 1911 to link St. Pauli with Steinwerder, the port area on the south side of the Elbe. Modelled on the Clyde Tunnel in Glasgow, it was the first river tunnel on the European continent. Two tubes, each about six metres in diameter, run for roughly 426 metres under the Elbe at a depth of nearly 24 metres. It was built under air pressure, and the work came at a cost: three workers died of decompression sickness and others were left with lasting health problems.

The journey begins in the domed entrance building at the western end of the Landungsbrücken, designed by Raabe & Wöhlecke, whose copper dome was restored in 2008. Instead of ramps, large lift cages carry people, bikes and once cars down the shafts, alongside newer glass passenger lifts. At the bottom, the tiled tubes are decorated with glazed terracotta reliefs, mostly of fish and crabs. Much of this majolica tiling survived the wartime bombing.

Walking through takes ten minutes or so. On the far side, come up to the riverbank at Steinwerder for a broad view back across the water to the Landungsbrücken and the St. Pauli waterfront, a popular spot for photographs. Then simply walk back the way you came. Traffic figures give a sense of how popular it remains: in 2018 more than a million pedestrians and around 300,000 cyclists were counted.

Pedestrians and cyclists use the tunnel free of charge. It is currently closed to all motor vehicles until further notice. The official tourism site notes that the lifts have their own operating times, with the freight lifts running from 06:00 to 20:00 on weekdays and 10:00 to 18:00 at weekends. The tubes have been renovated one at a time over recent years, so one may be closed when you visit. For wheelchair users, the lifts are larger than 150 by 150 centimetres.

The tunnel has been a protected monument since 2003 and was named a Historic Landmark of Civil Engineering in Germany in 2011. Allow 45 minutes for the round trip and the view. It combines naturally with a walk along the Landungsbrücken and a ferry ride.