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Destinations · Europe · germany · Hamburg · Urban Legends ·

As in many European cities, famous people connected to Hamburg have been successfully canonized. Brahms and Mendelssohn were born here, but among the most colourful memories the city has is of the Beatles. In 1960, the previously nearly unknown band from Liverpool arrived in Hamburg. It was then composed of five adventurers -- John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best. On August 17th, they performed for the first time -- at Indra Club, a place popular with sailors, prostitutes and pimps. The club was located in Grosse Freiheit, a street off the infamous Reeperbahn. Hamburg became the Beatles' real training ground, as well as the springboard for their career. Their first recording was made in this period, and it was in Hamburg that Lennon and McCartney first played with Ringo Starr, then a member of Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. They still had a long way to go to fame and glamour; during their christening by fire in Hamburg, they were housed in the Bambi Kino storeroom nearby, next to the ladies' room. Countless Beatles fans make a pilgrimage to Hamburg to try to follow in the footsteps of the core of the "Fab Four", and last year the city marked the fiftieth anniversary of the Beatles' first concert here with flair. An extensive Beatlemania exhibit opened a Beatles museum on the Reeperbahn, between strip clubs and sex shops. The corner of Reeperbahn and Grosse Freiheit is now known as Beatles-Platz. It's in the shape of a vinyl record and the boys from Liverpool are present rather like gingerbread men, with their familiar faces. Every fifth tourist probably has a picture taken here, the strip clubs in the background. Note that not a few of the places associated with the Beatles don't exist anymore, or have shifted locations. Star Club, for instance, burned down in 1987. Indra Club still exists and it is also one of the points of interest on the quite engaging Beatles Tour (www.beatle-tour.com).

There's another secret address in Hamburg that you won't find in most travel guides. The Lennon Doorway is a place hardcore John Lennon fans flock to almost as religiously as Doors fans flock to Jim Morrison's grave in Paris... well, that would be a slight exaggeration. You'll find the doorway in the courtyard at Wohlwillstrasse 22, in St. Pauli. It's basically an ordinary, worn wooden door in an unassuming brick building, but it's significant in that a 1965 photograph taken here graced the cover of Lennon's sixth solo album, in 1975, post-Beatles. The photo is black and white and the door is barely visible -- Lennon, still quite young in the picture, leans against it, in a black leather jacket. It was taken when the Beatles returned to this city for the second time. Lennon would later say of this period that he was born in Liverpool, but grew up in Hamburg. Jurgen Vollmer, a photographer from Hamburg who later became famous for his fashion shoots and shots of stars, took it -- he befriended the band members when they first arrived in Germany.

Even if you don't come here just to see the door, this is a worthwhile destination -- Wohlwillstrasse is lined with alternative shops and cafes. It is another part of Hamburg that seems to live a life of its own, and one feels that the Beatles would feel at home here even today. At a place called Kandie, a hole in the wall, you can get T-shirts that say Voodoo Chanel, and further on there's a bicycle shop called Suicycle...

To find the courtyard, look for the sign that says Jagerpassage. There are no other signs. The vestibule is covered with graffiti and posters, and you need to push open the wooden gate and go in. The door is immediately recognizable, and when we were there a sort of gatekeeper was sipping beer. He smiled when asked if this is the actual door, and nodded. You won't be the first visitor, or the last.

Though this is most definitely not the most famous or the most attractive or the most desirable part of Hamburg, this curious out-of-the-way area has a charm that seems to gel with the essnce of the city. It has the harshness port cities often have, an international mix, a crudeness, sex, drugs, 'n rock 'n roll, and an untamed creative energy.

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