With the opening of the International Maritime Museum Hamburg, a “maritime museum of world ranking” was arisen in the German Hanseatic city. The structure houses the private collection of Professor Peter Tamm which is thought to be the largest of its kind in the field of shipping and marine history. The historically protected Kaispeicher B, a neo-Gothic brick construction from the year 1879, is the oldest warehouse in the dockside area of Hamburg and in its initial function served as a warehouse for general cargo until the end of 2003. The building was renovated over a three-year construction period by the city of Hamburg for about 30 million euros and its reopening as International Maritime Museum Hamburg was celebrated June 25 2008, and attended by Federal President Horst Köhler and other important political and business celebrities.
Extensive representation of maritime history
Each of the nine exhibition decks invites the visitor to become acquainted with another aspect of seafaring as well as their discoverers and conquerors, captains and average sailors. The maritime history of the Greek Trireme, Viking ships, from the time of the Hanseatic League up to the present day container ships, all this and more is impressively represented using 36,000 ship models, numerous construction plans, paintings, graphics and nautical devices as well as maritime objects.
Letters from the British admiral Horatio Nelson and the pure gold model of the Santa Maria are regarded as special features. The historical marine uniforms and medals are regarded as the historically most important in this field worldwide. Discoveries of famous seafarers, the opening of new sea routes, the development of nautical instruments, naval wars, the art, crafting and development of the trade flows are impressively presented. In addition, the archives and a library are located on a rented level in the neighboring Heinemann-Speicher, in which irreplaceable documents are shown on the developmental history of mankind.
Another attraction in the historical Kaispeicher B: an ESSER fire alarm panel!
It might seem to be an anachronism when modern fire detection technology and old treasures which are witnesses of contemporary history are united under the same roof.
Due to the historical building design, comprehensive, technical fire protection monitoring was required which on the one hand safeguards the exhibits and on the other hand guarantees the protection of the up to 1,200 visitors who move through the premises on a daily basis. Since the interior finishing mainly consists of wood, and that some of the exhibits are wooden as well, a correspondingly high fire load results. A special solution had to be found for the archives and the library, in order to protect the enormous number of historic documents not only from the destruction which could be caused by fire but also from water damage from the use of a sprinkler system.
The specialized installation company of Plock Elektro GmbH in charge of the installation decided on the fire detection technology from ESSER for the safeguarding of the quayside warehouse. There are 780 IQ8Quad optical detectors connected to the fire detector installation via 8 loops, which is housed in a 19" cabinet in the engineering room of the south tower and the showrooms controls. IQ8Quad O²T and rate-of-rise heat detectors guarantee for false alarm-proof monitoring in the 3rd floor offices and in the various gastronomical areas. In addition, the people inside the building can trigger one of 50 IQ8Quad MCPs which would immediately alert the fire department in the case of a fire. For the protection of the archives and the library, an additional nitrogen extinguishing system is used in order to secure the 120,000 books and 50,000 atlases as well as the innumerable construction plans, films and photos.
A sprinkler system was mounted on the remaining floors. In the quite improbable case of a fire, extensive control functions would be activated via the FACP: The fire doors are locked in order to prevent spreading of the fire; the persons in the building are alerted via the public address system; the excess pressure system for the desmoking of the two staircases is activated; fan blowers keep the emergency exits smoke-free in order to provide the persons inside the building with a safe route to the outside; the corresponding sprinkler system station is triggered and elevator operation is taken control of.
Some detectors are connected directly to the extinguishing system; if these detect a fire in the archives or in the library, the nitrogen extinguishing system is immediately activated and a signal is sent to the fire alarm system; this then simultaneously sets off an alarm at the fire department.
So it is guaranteed that this comprehensive collection of marine history is always highly protected and thus future generations can also obtain informative insights into the life and work of our forefathers.
Object Report International Maritime Museum Hamburg
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