The Deichtorhallen are two soaring late-19th-century iron-and-glass market halls just east of the city centre, repurposed in 1989 into Hamburg's largest contemporary art and photography exhibition space. The taller hall (Halle für aktuelle Kunst) takes the major contemporary art shows; the smaller one (Haus der Photographie) holds the city's photography collection, including the F.C. Gundlach archive.
The halls' original use as wholesale fruit and vegetable markets is still legible in their structure — long open naves under bowed steel ribs, big enough to hold large-scale installations. Shows change two to three times a year and are generally serious museum-quality exhibitions. Closed Mondays; budget two hours for both halls.