Culture
Aurubis feels very closely connected to the City of Hamburg and has become involved in many sectors to benefit the city. We like to promote projects that have a direct connection with Copper or are in the immediate vicinity of our sites.
The company is currently participating in several projects in Hamburg. Hamburg’s principal church, St. Michaelis, Hamburg’s landmark, und St. Katharinen urgently needed new roofing. Aurubis is providing the required copper sheets and subsequently recycling the copper scrap. In parallel, an exhibition is being held in the crypt of the St. Michaelis „The new Michel roof – copper so close to the heavens“. The flyer to the exhibition can be downloaded here.
Aurubis has been involved in Hamburg’s churches before: in 2000 and 2001 the principal churches of St. Petri and St. Jacobi received new copper roofs with Aurubis’s help and the Archangel Michael, who looks over the entrance to the Michel, was extensively restored about 15 years ago.
Copper does not only play an important part in modern technology. Music would also be unthinkable without copper. Alloys with copper have for example ensured that wind instruments hit the right note. Aurubis has been a partner and exclusive sponsor of selected concerts of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festivals (SHMF) since 2001, which has made its theme the promotion of young musicians from all over the world. Since 2004 the Aurubis event centre „Alte Schlosserei“ has even been one of the SHMF concert halls and has proven to be an ideal venue for classical concerts due to its good acoustics.
In addition, various exhibitions and projects are regularly supported. The Group has promoted for example the Spreehafenfestival for some years in Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg, the artist Adam Ostrowski and the Museum für Mineralogie.
Our commitment was rewarded last year: Aurubis was awarded the KulturMerkur 2008 in the category „Large Companies “ by the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber of Commerce pays tribute to special cultural commitment by awarding this prize.
Hamburg churches
We are currently involved in projects at two of the five Hamburg principal churches. Hamburg’s landmark, St. Michaelis, and the church of St. Katharinen urgently needed new copper roofs. The previous copper plates could no longer withstand the strong wind and suction forces round the churches. They had become loose and water was seeping into the buildings.
Aurubis had already donated copper for the Hamburg principal churches of St. Petri and St. Jacobi which were likewise in need of renovation. In 2008 St. Katharinen had part of the church tower recovered and at St. Michaelis the north side of the nave was covered with new copper roofing. The work will be completed in the course of 2009 and both churches returned to their former glory.
