Chilehaus

Lonely Planet review

For some visitors the city's most remarkable building isn't the Rathaus, but another that lies south in the Merchant's District. The brown-brick Chilehaus is shaped like an ocean liner, with remarkable curved walls meeting in the shape of a ship's bow and staggered balconies to look like decks.

Designed by architect Fritz Höger for a merchant who derived his wealth from trading with Chile, the 1924 building is a leading example of German Expressionist architecture. It's situated in an interesting quarter of town, the Kontorhausviertel, alongside other so-called 'Backsteingotik' buildings ( Backstein refers to a specially glazed brick; gotik means Gothic).