The Davidwache, falsely referred to as Davidswache (with Fugen-s), is the building of the Hamburg Police Commissariat 15 and has become the most famous police station of the Hanseatic city and beyond, especially through film and television.
The guard is located on the neighborhood in the district of St. Pauli on the Reeperbahn, corner Spielbudenplatz / Davidstraße. The district covers 0.92 km ² and has about 14,000 inhabitants.
In 1840, the Hamburg Senate approved a police station for St. Pauli. In April 1840, a guard was set, in October 1840 a house on the corner of Kastanienallee and David Street was moved. In 1867, a reinforcement of police forces appeared necessary, which also increased the space required. It happened that at the corner of David Street and Spielbudenplatz a building of the Hamburg Citizen's Military was available. The guard moved to this location in 1868.
After 31 years in which the police station was under the custody of a bourgeois deputation, the guard was assigned in 1871 to the Hamburg Police Department - at that time police station 13.
With the expansion of the entertainment district of St. Pauli at the turn of the century a renewed increase in police presence seemed urgently needed. Again, a larger building was needed.
The original estimate of Fritz Schumacher from the year 1911 amounted to about 115,000 marks, in 1913, the cost was already estimated at 170,000. After all, this dispute was finally settled and the necessary money made available.
After construction in 1913-1914, the current building was handed over to the police on 10 December 1914.
On October 9, 1970, the so-called Davidwache, which was popularly known for more than 100 years, was given the right by the then Senator for the Interior, Heinz Ruhnau, to be called officially and in external legal relations from then on.
After several major renovations, the last major ones in 1968 and 1990/1991, the Hamburg Police Department again needed more space in 2003 as part of a restructuring.
After about 15 months of construction, on April 4, 2005, the cultivation was officially handed over and the creation of the Police Commissariat 15 announced. The annex now houses the Criminal Investigation Department and the Department of Public Transportation, while the former section of the building houses the police and the commissariat. Furthermore, the extension offers space for a large conference hall.