The harbour city of Hamburg is bursting with creative energy. After spending a long weekend workation exploring its neighbourhoods and waterways, we could soon see why startups, entrepreneurs and remote workers have been flocking here. The city’s old industrial buildings have been reinvented for an array of imaginative purposes – concert halls, cafés, museums, and in recent years, coworking spaces. During our stay, I had the pleasure of visiting two of the most creative coworking spaces in Hamburg. What I found was a buzzing community that will welcome anybody, whether you’re stopping by for a day or here to stay.
Coworking spaces in Hamburg
BEEHIVE Coworking Spaces
With five different workspaces around the country, BEEHIVE is an established coworking community in Germany – and three of its locations are right here in Hamburg.
I visited the BEEHIVE coworking space at St Georg, which is perched right next to the central station. It couldn’t be any more conveniently located!
Wherever you go in Hamburg it seems you are always welcomed by a friendly face, and this place is no different. In fact, at BEEHIVE, I was welcomed by three friendly faces – Lea, who is a space manager, and Teresa and Luisa, who work in the marketing team.
A historic building reimagined
The coworking space at BEEHIVE St Georg is set inside a listed building called the Bieberhaus, which was built between 1908 and 1910 on the site of an old boys’ school. Over the years it has also been utilised as a social welfare authority and a tax office.
You can feel the historic atmosphere as you walk through the building. The workspace decorations pay special attention to original features, while also integrating modern furnishings and bright, bold colours.
Upstairs in the lounge room, a stunning mural is daubed across the ceiling. This is a reimagining of an old piece of artwork that was restored after the original was destroyed, and it is illuminated by natural light that pours in through the tall windows.
Outside in the corridor area is a contrasting mural: a piece of fan art that depicts computer game characters in vibrant colour. This was painted by Gloria, a graphic design specialist who is part of the team at BEEHIVE. Fittingly, there is a game machine next to it as well, which can bring a bit of fun in your downtime.
Spaces to inspire creativity
Teresa is Teamleader Marketing at BEEHIVE. She explained to me how the working environments around the space have been carefully crafted to spark creativity.
“We didn’t want the building to be just another boring office,” she says. “We want to create spaces that inspire you to think better, and come up with new ideas.”
There is an easygoing vibe about the entire place. It doesn’t feel like a pressured environment at all. Each room has its own style, and there is always somewhere to go if you need a quiet moment to focus.
Flexible day rates and week rates
You don’t need to sign up to a monthly membership to work at BEEHIVE. There are short-term options that make it easy to use the space and participate in the coworking community, whether you are on a flying visit to Hamburg or looking to work remotely in the city for the longer term.
Day passes are just €19.99, and getting set up is really simple. You can book a pass online, and then you receive a pin code for the building entrance and a wifi code, and you’re all set. It couldn’t be a more perfect arrangement for taking a workation in Hamburg.
With one of these short-term passes, you still have full access to all the perks that permanent members get. That means you can use stuff like the phone booths, lockers, coffee and tea in the communal kitchen, and you can also access the other BEEHIVE locations in the city.
With a day pass you will most probably work in the hot-desking area, which is roomy and comfortable. Upstairs there are a couple of funky meetings rooms, one with a relaxed lounge feel geared towards laidback workshop sessions, and another slightly more formal with a large boardroom-style table.
If one of the meeting rooms is free, you can switch up your surroundings and go and work in there if you have a day pass. Then, at the end of the day, the city centre is right on your doorstep to go exploring.
These are the full rates at BEEHIVE’s coworking spaces in Hamburg:
- Day rate: €19.99
- Week rate: €80.92
- See the pricing tool for more rates, including monthly.
Mindspace Hamburg
You couldn’t hand-pick a more central location in Hamburg than Klöpperhaus, the historic, century-old building that has been transformed into a coworking space: Mindspace Hamburg.
Mindspace is a coworking concept that was born in Tel-Aviv, Israel, and arrived here in Hamburg in 2016. It now has locations across Europe, Israel and the US, and each site is carefully selected to fit into its creative mould.
Catharina, community sales manager at the Hamburg site, told me more over a coffee, freshly prepared from the communal kitchen. “Everything has to be exactly right when we choose a location,” she says. “It must be no more than three minutes from public transport. It needs to be big – at least two thousand square metres. And it needs to have flair.”
You can feel this flair instantly when you enter the main coworking area in the building. The high-ceilinged hall has a raw essence with old industrial pipework clinging to the structure, and is stylised with black-and-white stencilled artwork on the wall.
At one corner of the hall is an open communal kitchen, and at the opposite end is a hot-desking area, which you can use with a day pass. The room is huge, but it turns out it is only the tip of the iceberg…
A maze of vintage spaces
Mindspace Hamburg is spread across several floors, connected together by a grand old spiral staircase that has been beautifully restored. As you weave in and out of the various breakout areas, lounges and meeting rooms, you will encounter stacks of vinyls, vintage sofas, bookcases, and bicycles hung on the walls.
These bicycles are not just for show either – as a member of the coworking space, you can borrow them to run errands around the city.
Each of the two floors above the main hall has a comfy lounge area with old-phone-box-style booths. There are cool coffee bars with tall stools, spaced-out sofas, and yet more vinyls hung on racks.
As a travel and geography enthusiast I particularly enjoyed the giant old map of Eurasia framed on the wall in a lounge space alongside one of the corridors.
Meticulously crafted interior
Back in the main coworking hall, Catharina tells me more about how the design of a place like this comes together. The space layout at every Mindspace location is masterminded by the same original interior designer from Tel-Aviv.
She goes into each location and works with local artists to hone the design. There is a consistent look and feel across all Mindspace locations, but each space also incorporates features that are reflective of the city they are in.
So, what is particular about the Hamburg coworking space? “Berlin has a graffiti style,” says Catharina, “But Hamburg is more like a living room mixed with a cigar lounge!”
Clara, community manager at the space who was also there to welcome me, laughs in agreement. “That’s exactly what it’s like!” I can’t help but agree as well.
One striking feature that gives a special nod to Hamburg’s cultural heritage is a Beatles-inspired silver rocket that hangs from the ceiling of the main hall.
Building a community atmosphere
Social events are held regularly at Mindspace Hamburg as a way of bringing the community together. Often it is something as simple as a ‘Mindspace Hour’ breakfast or lunch.
“Once a week we do something for the community,” says Catharina. “It can be anything really. Just recently we had a cinema screening of Home Alone.”
And this translates into a welcoming vibe that seems to resonate throughout the building. There’s quiet when you need it, but a fun sociable aspect too.
Day passes and multipasses
Mindspace Hamburg offers day passes for €27, which give you access to all the spaces in the huge complex. If you’re hanging around in the city longer but not permanently, then you can also buy a ‘Mindpass Multi’, which gives you flexible access for 4, 8 or 12 days across a 30-day period.
There are sometimes discounts available when you book on the Mindspace website.
Mindspace is now seeking to expand further in Germany. But of course, it will depend on finding a building that fits the special formula!
Coworking spaces in Hamburg: map of locations
You can see the locations of the coworking spaces in Hamburg mentioned in this article on the map below:
Have you visited any coworking spaces in Hamburg, or spent time working remotely in the city? Let us know about your experiences in the comments below.
For ideas on how to spend your time in the city, see our articles on things to do in Hamburg and the best cafés in Hamburg.
See our ultimate guide to workations for inspiration and tips on planning short-term remote getaways.
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