Afghan Museum
Afghan Museum (Afghanisches Museum) in Hamburg
The Afghan Museum was a private cultural museum in Hamburg’s Speicherstadt district. It opened in March 1998, founded by lawyer Nek Mohamad Pirzad with his family and friends, and was designed by Afghan artist Hessan. The museum closed in December 2011. It aimed to bring Afghan culture and its traditions to life.
Exhibits showed everyday Afghan life, including a cobbler repairing shoes, tandoori bread baking, and a carpet-maker knotting a large Elephantfoot-pattern rug. Visitors could also see a tea house interior, a Turkmen yurt, and an Afghan veil (chadri). Reproductions included the fortress Qala-e-Bost near Lashkar Gah, the Buddhas of Bamyan, and the minaret of Jam.
The on-site shop sold green tea with cardamom, roasted chickpeas, raisins, mulberries, and Afghan jewelry and clothing. The museum participated in Hamburg’s Long Night of Museums and was located in Speicherstadt, with access via the Messberg area.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 10:40 (CET).