Gustav-Mahler-Park

Gustav-Mahler-Park is a public green space in Hamburg’s Neustadt district, stretching between Dammtordamm and the Alsterufer. To the north, the Hamburg-Altona connecting railway borders the grounds. It forms part of a green corridor following the former city wall from the Alster at Lombardsbrücke to the Elbe. Today, its southern edge connects with a street between high-rise buildings.

The site took the name Gustav Mahler in 1991, after his years as first Kapellmeister at Hamburg City Theatre. Earlier, people commonly called the grounds Dammtorpark. In 2010, a footpath received the name of tenor Hans Grahl, who worked at the State Opera before the Second World War. Near Dammtor station, a multiplex cinema occupies the former Munich Hofbräuhaus site.

Among the artworks, Friedrich von Schiller’s monument stands between the cinema and Dag-Hammarskjöld Bridge. Julius Lippelt and Carl Boerner created it. Edgar Augustin’s 1970 bronze shows two rugby players, while Walter Dexel’s light sculpture stands before the Stephansplatz elevated-railway substation. Underfoot, a deep bunker dates from 1963. It replaced a Second World War shelter at the Binnenalster and accommodates 104 people, with 51 sleeping places.