For more than 800 years, the port of Hamburg has been one of the most important spice trading places in the world. So it is not really surprising that this is home to Spicy's Gewürzmuseum, a one-of-a-kind spice museum. It is located right in the heart of the port - in Hamburg´s "Docklands," the "Speicherstadt," which comprise the largest collection of historical warehouses in the world. They are to be found in the Free Port, and were built between 1888 and 1910. It  is supposed to be the world's largest consecutive warehouse complex.

The new-gothic red brick architecture is the main attraction of any harbor sightseeing tour, best done on a small barge.

Then and now, primarily  high-quality import merchandise such as oriental rugs, raw silk, electronic devices, tobacco, coffee, cocoa beans, tea, rum, dried fruit, nuts, and - last but not least - spices are stored in these warehouses.

The huge brick warehouses comprise roughly 600,000 square meters. Deliveries come in from the water side, pickups go out on the street side. The warehouses are sorted by letters, A-Z; block L, one of the oldest buildings, is the home of "Spicy's Gewürzmuseum"
(see red marker.)

Climbing the worn-out stairs to the "2. Boden" (second
floor), we reach the museum. Entry fee is 3.00 Euro  (about US$ 4.00), which usually includes a small surprise gift like, for example, a spice sample.

Browsing the comprehensive exhibition on creaking floor boards put us back in time and the authentic old warehouse atmosphere.

The museum's main purpose is to help people learn and understand the use, quality and storage of spices, says Spicy's owner Viola Vierk And as a matter of fact, we learned a lot.

Part of the exhibits is ancient production machinery, such as this spice and drug mill (left), as well as a complete post-war kitchen (right) which was set up especially for the current special feature: "Suppen - echt scharf" (delicious and spicy soups.)

Spicy's is actually a hands-on museum, with quite unusual special feature exhibitions. This summer, "Suppen - echt scharf" (delicious and spicy soups) is on, and visitors will find a wealth of information, "soupy" tips and tricks. Renowned chef Erich Häusler, well known beyond Hamburg, will teach and cook differently themed soups every Sunday afternoon between 7/15 and 9/30/01. He will also talk about soup spices and herbs.

Quite recently we were fortunate enough to get invited to a preview party for this special feature program. Chef Häusler created two delicious spicy soups: Seafood soup with cabbage, kicked up with allspice, and Lamb soup with grain of pearl barley, kicked up with allspice. Unbelievably delicious!

Spicy's owner
Viola Vierk and
Chef Erich Häusler

Spicy soup with
grain of pearl
barley, allspice
and lamb