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Location, sites and tunnels

The European XFEL is located in the German federal states of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein. It comprises three large sites above ground and several underground tunnels.

 
Location of the European XFEL
The 3.4-km-long X-ray laser will begin on the DESY site in Hamburg-Bahrenfeld and run mostly underground to the research site, south of the town of Schenefeld (Schleswig-Holstein).
(DOP, FHH, Landesbetrieb Geoinf. und Vermessung, LGV41-07-130//DOP, (c) LVermA S-H 2007, S 389/07//Kerstin Schürmann/ formlabor)
Click on the image to see it full size.

The European XFEL is more than three kilometres long. It will begin at the DESY site in Hamburg-Bahrenfeld and run in a north-western direction to the town of Schenefeld (Pinneberg district, Schleswig-Holstein), where the main building with its underground experiment hall will be located.

  • Site DESY-Bahrenfeld: the beginning

    The site DESY-Bahrenfeld marks the beginning of the European XFEL. The main tunnel, which will house the electron accelerator, begins here in a depth of around 38 m underground.

  • Site Osdorfer Born: the beginning of the tunnel fan

    Under the site Osdorfer Born, the electron bunches are distributed for the first time into the tunnels in which they will generate the X-ray light.

  • Site Schenefeld: the research campus

    The site Schenefeld is the centre for research and innovation with the European XFEL. It is the address of the future research centre, the place where around 350 people will work.

  • The tunnel buildings

    The main part of the facility is located in underground tunnels. This is where the electrons are accelerated and induced to generate the X-ray radiation.