Hamm

Hamm is a city of 180,000 inhabitants (2022) in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. Once an industrial and important railway hub, it's now a relatively unremarkable city at the far east end of the Ruhr.

Schulweg-Steg footbridge

Get in

By train

• 1 Hamm (Westfalen) station. This station is a surprisingly important hub given the size of Hamm and is served by several ICEs. It used to be an important freight hub as well, but that role has greatly diminished.  

Get around

Hamm has a local city bus system of 14 routes, buses operate on all days of the week. There are regional bus services to Lünen, Werne, Werl, Ahlen and Bergkamen.

Very early, on Saturday and Sunday nights, there are night buses to suburbs and neighbouring villages. Single rides are €2.80 each, day passes for 1 or up to 5 persons are €4.60 and €8.80 respectively (May 2024).

See

• 1 Maximilianpark. The former coalmine Maximilian was transformed into a leisure park with the coalmine washery having been turned into a walk-in-sculpture in the shape of a Glass Elephant. By entering a lift inside the elephants trunk, visitors can reach the top floor of the transformed building, allowing a panoramic view of the surrounding area. The elephant includes a collection of mechanically moving constructs called garden of kinetic objects, mimicking e.g. animal movements. The park also contains various remnants of the sites industrial heritage, playgrounds, a butterfly house, a park railway (operated by a railway club during limited operation times) and a bistro. Adult €6, child €3.50, family €12-16. (updated May 2024)
• 2 Sri-Kamadchi-Ampal-Tempel, Siegenbeckstraße 4-5 (from Hamm Hbf, take Bus Route 5 to "Hindu-Tempel" Stop), ☏ +49 2388 302223. Daily 08:00-14:00, 17:00-20:00. Europe's third largest Hindu temple, built in the north-Indian Nagara style during the late 1990s. People consuming pork or alcohol, and girls and women who are on their period, may not enter the temple.  
• 3 Zoo Hamm (Tierpark Hamm), Grünstr. 150 (From Hamm station take bus route 27, direction Klutestr. to Tierpark / Grüne Str. stop). Mar-Nov 09:00-19:00; Nov-Feb 09:00-17:00. Adult €9.50, child €5. (updated Feb 2024)

Sleep

• 1 Mercure Hotel Hamm, Neue Bahnhofstraße 3, ☏ +49 2381 91920. (updated Jan 2016)
• 2 Neumann's Nautilus, Hafenweg 4, Bergkamen, ☏ +49 2389 925920. 

Go next

• Münster
• Dortmund
• Soest