Handball House

The Hansehalle in Lübeck is a multi-purpose arena. Opened in 1963, it hosted the German Table Tennis Championships before gradually becoming known for handball. The building sits in the St. Lorenz-Nord district, at An der Hansehalle 1, and was substantially renovated between 1993 and 1994 — a rebuild that may explain why some records cite that later period rather than the original opening.

The interior is straightforward: concrete base, PVC covering, parquet sections for play surfaces. The seating capacity stands at 3,200, with 2,114 fixed seats. It has served as the home ground for VfL Lübeck-Schwartau, though the club has moved its dressing rooms to the Handball-Haus, a residential building nearby used as player housing — a distinction often confused by visitors unfamiliar with the city.

The arena earned the nickname Hansehölle, a name that stuck through decades of matches, not for any dramatic atmosphere but simply because it was the only indoor handball venue in Lübeck for many years. The surface is artificial, designed for rapid turnover between events, and the lighting is functional rather than theatrical. There is no standing terrace, no covered lower tier, no architectural feature that sets it apart from any other regional sports hall in northern Germany.

What remains is that it has hosted handball for longer than most of its current tenants have played there, and that the floorboards have been replaced twice since the last major renovation. It is not a landmark, but it is still in use.