Hamburg

I

Introduction

Hamburg, city in north central Germany, on the Elbe and Alster rivers, near the North Sea. Its full name is the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. Hamburg is the second busiest seaport in Europe and a major commercial, industrial, and cultural center. Since 1937 the city has been coextensive with, and the capital of, the state of Hamburg (746 sq km/288 sq mi).

Hamburg consists of an old section on the eastern side of the Alster River, a new section on the western side, and several suburbs. The old section, which contains the heart of the commercial district, is crossed by numerous canals. Among the outstanding features of the city are the many bridges spanning the canals; Hamburg has more bridges than Amsterdam and Venice combined. Other points of interest are the Köhlbrandbrücke, a long suspension bridge (1975) across an arm of the Elbe; the Inner Alster and the Outer Alster, lakes created by a dam at the mouth of the Alster River; the ancient ramparts, converted into a system of gardens and promenades around the old section; and the Hopfenmarkt, a large public square. Noteworthy historic buildings include the City Hall, an elaborate Renaissance-style structure completed in 1897, and the churches of Saint Peter (begun 12th century), Saint James (13th-15th century), Saint Catherine (14th-15th century), and Saint Michael (late 18th century), noted for its lofty spire. The composers Felix Mendelssohn and Johannes Brahms were born in Hamburg, and the poet and dramatist Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock is buried in the Altona section of the city.

The city's many cultural institutions include the Kunsthalle, a museum with an extensive collection of 19th- and 20th-century painting; a museum of crafts and decorative arts; an ethnology museum with extensive collections of South Seas, African, and Siberian artifacts; a museum of Hamburg history; a modern opera house, noted for its production of contemporary operas; and several theaters. Hamburg has a large zoo and a botanical garden and is known for its Sankt Pauli amusement quarter, which has many nightclubs along the Reeperbahn. The city is the seat of a university, institutes of medicine, and a school of marine architecture. More than 80 foreign consulates are in the city. It is a leading center of radio and television broadcasting and film production.

II

Commerce and Industry

Hamburg is the principal seaport and a major commercial center of Germany. In addition to vast accommodations for handling oceangoing vessels, the port has both rail and inland-waterway connections with much of central Europe. A large fishing fleet is based in Hamburg. The city also has great shipbuilding and repairing yards, as well as industries producing refined petroleum, chemicals, machinery, metal goods, and processed food. It is a major center of printing and publishing.

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III

History

Hamburg was founded as the fortress of Hammaburg, established by Charlemagne in 808 as a defense outpost. Extending his campaign to gain converts to Christianity, Charlemagne established a church in the vicinity of the fortress in 811. The church soon became a center of Christian civilization in Northern Europe and was subject to frequent attacks by hostile people. Hamburg became an archiepiscopal see in 834, but in 847, two years after the community was sacked by the Norse, the seat of the archbishopric was transferred to nearby Bremen.

Despite destructive raids by the Danes and Slavs, Hamburg endured and, in 1189, received a charter from the Holy Roman Empire. The charter, an award for services rendered during the Third Crusade, granted the city important commercial privileges. Defensive alliances with Lübeck in 1241 and with Bremen in 1249 led to the formation of the Hanseatic League; Hamburg became one of the league's most powerful and wealthy cities. In 1529 Hamburg accepted the Reformation, and the city became a haven for Lutheran, Calvinist, and Jewish refugees of Europe. During the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), the commercial prosperity of the city declined drastically. A brief revival, spurred by the establishment of trade ties with the United States in 1783, was terminated by the Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815), during which the city was occupied (1811) by the forces of Napoleon.

Reestablished as a free city after the downfall of Napoleon, Hamburg became a member of the German Confederation in 1815. The city recovered swiftly from the effects of the French occupation and continued to expand despite a destructive fire that lasted four days in 1842 and a cholera epidemic that resulted in 8605 deaths in 1892. A popular uprising in Hamburg in November 1918 heralded the overthrow of the German Empire, and for a short time (1918-1919) the city was constituted as a socialist republic. The towns of Altona, Harburg, and Wandsbek were incorporated into Hamburg in 1938.

As a submarine base and a center of the German war effort during World War II (1939-1945), Hamburg was severely damaged by Allied air raids, and many of its inhabitants were killed. It was rebuilt after the war and by the 1950s was an elegant, thriving metropolis. Population (2005 estimate) 1,734,800.

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