Gänsemarkt

Gänsemarkt is a public square in Hamburg, located in the Neustadt quarter. The opera building of Oper am Gänsemarkt at the square was used from 1678 to 1738. In 1765 the building was demolished and replaced by the Hamburg National Theatre, which had to close in 1769. The theatre employed Gotthold Ephraim Lessing as the world’s first dramaturg. Today, the Hamburg State Opera is located a few metres north at Dammtorstraße. Therefore, the Lessing Monument is located in the center of the square. It was created by Fritz Schaper and erected in 1881. On 18 June 1944 the monument was hit by a bomb and it fell from its pedestal. In 1955 it was erected again. The Ufa-Palast, with a capacity of 2,667 once Europe’s largest cinema, opened in December 1929. For a long time afterwards, it was also Hamburg’s biggest cinema. In 2006, the cinema was closed and the newer building was demolished. Today, the square is surrounded by shops, the shopping arcades of Gänsemarkt Passage and some restaurants. The U-Bahn station of Gänsemarkt (U2 line) is located right below the square.