Uhlenhorst

Uhlenhorst is a leafy district in Hamburg-Nord, squeezed between the Outer Alster and two canals, the Osterbek and the Eilbek. Its land was once swampy meadows where the clergy kept cattle and barges unloaded goods. The name came from an abandoned farm where owls nested, first written down in 1608. In the 19th century August Abendroth, Carl Heine and Adolph Jencquel drained the land, dug new canals and raised the ground so houses could stand. After the great fire of 1842 lowered the Alster water level, the area was finally safe to build on. The district keeps traces of its past in brick churches and villas. The neo-Gothic St Gertrud Church, built 1882–85 by Johannes Otzen, stands by the Kuhmühlenteich with its glazed bricks catching the light. Nearby the Kaufmannsvilla at Schwanenwik 38, enlarged in 1890, now houses the Literaturhaus with monthly readings and a café. Two theatres sit on either side of the Mundsburg U-Bahn station: the Ernst Deutsch Theater and the English Theatre in the old Hammonia Baths. Paths run beside the Alster and around the Feenteich, lined with benches for strollers. The Literaturhauscafé, the bookshop Samtleben and the university’s sailing pontoon offer quiet corners. Rowing clubs and the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein keep the water alive, while the Literaturhaus brings writers from around the world to read in the former ballroom. The district feels calm yet connected, its canals and avenues laid out long ago but still easy to explore.