Hamburg's Speicherstadt: The traditional hub of the European carpet trade

The truck, which today slowly crosses the cobbled streets of Hamburg's Speicherstadt, has covered a distance of thousands of kilometres. In front of the first front of the historically red bricked buildings he stops before the first tourist groups flock to the Miniatur Wunderland or Hamburg Dungeon. Even the carpets are loaded here, as one hundred years ago, via cable winches. An attraction that many tourists and tours look at. The wooden pallet is attached to a thick rope with hand-knotted carpets from Iran and then hoisted into the cellar by camp workers. 

Hamburg has not only recently become widely known for its imposing Elbphilharmonie. Especially the trade with all kinds of goods makes the Hanseatic city one of Europe's most important hubs. The large port speaks volumes of a long history of the mercantile activity of Hamburg merchants. For more than a hundred years, one of these goods has been a piece of craftsmanship that has recently found its way back into the living rooms of sophisticated apartments and houses: The Persian carpet. An old acquaintance from Iran. And a comeback against the backdrop of centuries-old craftsmanship.

Hamburg - City of oriental carpets

Trucks arrive almost daily in Hamburg to deliver their valuable carpets to the forty or so remaining carpet dealers in Hamburg and for the European market. Once there were almost 300 dealers who made Hamburg their company location, making the city the most important transshipment centre for oriental carpets in the whole of Europe.

While demand declined steadily until a few years ago, new sales markets such as the USA or the comeback of the Persian in the facilities of modern city residents are generating further increases in sales. Of course, the industry looks back in time with many a tearful eye, but history teaches us that quality proves itself. While carpets from industrial production lose their lustre and glory over the years, hand-knotted Persian carpets become antique rarities that achieve high prices among collectors. Of course, the life of carpet dealers in Hamburg's Speicherstadt has changed. Harbour bays no longer stop in front of the red-clinked warehouses and unload the carpet bales under the eyes of the carpet market merchants. The barges are fully loaded with tourists only. Nevertheless, carpets find their way into Hamburg's warehouses. Iranian producers deliver the most beautiful carpets to Germany by truck, train or even airplane as quickly as possible. However, only the delivery is fast. A truck load can take up to 300 years of manual work. Weaving carpets is not something that can be done by magic. Carpet knotters make knots for knots with the finest craftsmanship. There is a lot of love in the details. Only rarely do two Persian carpets resemble each other 100 percent. Rather, small knotting errors are a sign of their goodness.

Even if the past proved that quality prevails in the end, what the future will bring, nobody in the economy knows. Nor in the industry itself. The carpet manufacturers are slowly running out of young people. Young Iranians are drawn to the cities. Many people avoid the strenuous work. So whoever has a real Persian should stay calm. This may be worth many times over in a few decades.