Hamburg

Basic data:

Geography:

Hamburg is located in northern Germany at the confluence of the Alster and the Bille in the Elbe and 110 km from the North Sea. The city has a natural tidal port that extends across the entire width of the Elbe, but mainly on the south bank of the North Elbe opposite the districts of St. Pauli and Altona. These banks are connected by bridges to the east and by the Old and New Elbe Tunnel. The Geest, the land south and north of the river, is higher and was formed by the sand and debris deposited by glaciers during the ice ages.

For centuries, the marshes on both sides of the Elbe were inundated by the floodwaters of the North Sea. Today they are embanked on both sides of the Elbe. In the outskirts, old dykes are still reminiscent of the time when entire districts were under water during high tide.

In the city center, the Alster is dammed to form the artificial lake of the same name. This is divided into the larger Outer Alster and the smaller Inner Alster, which is surrounded by the historic core of the city. In the urban area, the tributaries to the Alster, like the Alster itself, are partially canalised. Hamburg is criss-crossed by numerous canals and canals. With 2500 bridges, it is the city with the most bridges in Europe.

The greatest expansion of the urban area is around 40 km in both an east-west and north-south direction.

Climate:

Hamburg`s climate is characterized by maritime influences. Typically, fog banks descend over the city about 52 days a year. In the winter months it can be very stormy. July is the warmest month with an average of 17.4 °C, the coldest January with 1.3 °C. The climate is humid all year round. An average of 774 mm of precipitation falls over the course of a year.

City structure:

7 districts: Altona, Bergedorf, Eimsbüttel, Harburg, Hamburg-Mitte,
Hamburg-Nord, Wandsbek

history:

The origins of Hamburg lie on the Alster. The first settlement arose on its shore (old Saxon: `ham`) in the 8th century. The "Hammaburg" was built here around 830 and became the seat of a diocese with a wooden church. After a Viking raid, the diocese was assigned to Bremen and Hamburg.

At the end of the 8th century, the Franconian Emperor Charlemagne extended his empire to the Elbe. The Saxon tribes were defeated and Christianized. In 808 the Danes defeated the emperor`s allies, whereupon Charlemagne had areas north of the Elbe occupied and pushed the borders of his empire to the Eider-Trave line. The future Hamburg was thus on Franconian territory and only existed as a trading settlement, a so-called "Wik".

In the 12th century the Elbe became more important. A merchant settlement was built on the right side of the Alster. A port was built towards the mouth of the Alster, around what is now the Nikolaifleet, and a market place was set up at what is now the Hopfenmarkt. The Danes ruled Hamburg from 1201 to 1225, under their rule the two settlements were united into one Hamburg.

Trade in northern Europe developed rapidly. On May 7, 1189, Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa issued a charter at her request, stating that ships from Hamburg could travel freely on the Elbe. The date is still the occasion for the annual port birthday party. The port rights granted to this settlement and the trade privileges for the entire Lower Elbe made the city a flourishing trade center in the Middle Ages.

In 1321, Hamburg joined the Hanseatic League and, thanks to its favorable location on the Elbe, developed into the most important North Sea port of the Hanseatic League. It served as a transshipment point for grain, cloth, furs, herring, spices, wood and metals.

At the same time, brewing flourished. In the 15th century there were 450 breweries in Hamburg. In 1558 the first German stock exchange was founded in Hamburg. In 1618 Hamburg became an imperial city and in 1619 Hamburg was the largest city in Germany at the time.

Hamburg owes the discovery of America and the sea route to Asia from 1550 that it became one of the most important import ports in Europe.

In 1678, under the name of Opern-Theatrum, the first German opera on Gänsemarkt. At the time of the Reformation, the city-state became Protestant without bloodshed.

During the great fire in Hamburg on May 5, 1842, a third of the city was destroyed and 20,000 people became homeless. The stock exchange survives the fire, but the town hall is sacrificed. When the city center was rebuilt, the city was restructured and the Alster arcades and today`s Rathausmarkt were created.

Due to the increase in sea shipping and world trade in the second half of the 19th century and the creation of the free port, Hamburg`s port and storage capacities were further expanded. The construction of the Speicherstadt 1881-1888 was the first step. In the decades that followed, the port was expanded to the opposite side of the Elbe. With the construction of the North Sea Canal in 1895, which meant a faster and more direct connection to the Baltic Sea, the port of Hamburg became even more attractive. Large shipyards emerged.

Until the middle of the 19th century, Hamburg did not grow beyond its medieval city limits. Today`s districts of St. Pauli, Altona and St. Georg were long before the city gates. Only from 1860, with the onset of industrialization, more and more surrounding villages were incorporated. By 1900 the city`s population was one million.

Since the first free elections in 1918, Hamburg has almost always been (co-)governed by the SPD. The Third Reich interrupted this line. Under the National Socialist government, the Greater Hamburg Law came into force in 1937, which incorporated the three cities (Altona, Harburg-Wilhelmsburg and Wandsbek) and several communities into the city. In the summer of 1943, 61% of Hamburg`s living space and 80% of the port facilities were destroyed by air raids.

Even after the end of the war, Hamburg remained a commercial and industrial city. The focus is on shipyards (Deutsche Werft, Blohm and Voss etc.). At the same time, Hamburg developed into a media city. Important publishing houses such as Gruner & Jahr ("Stern"), Der Spiegel, Alex-Springer-Verlag ("Image", "Hör Zu") Heinrich Bauer-Verlag ("Bunte") settled in Hamburg. The city also became the headquarters of the NDR, received an important film production site with the Hamburg studio, became the seat of the record industry and was home to a number of old and new book publishers. Hamburg became the richest region in Europe and the federal state with the highest gross domestic product.

The shipyard crisis and the introduction of containers forced Hamburg to restructure its economy in the 1980s. The port is shifting to the west. Modern terminals are being built in Waltershof and soon in Altenwerder. The Speicherstadt lost its importance. Large brownfield sites emerged. At the end of the millennium, Hamburg became a trading and service city.

The large "Hafen-City" project, an area of ??around 150 hectares, including 100 hectares of land, located between the Elbe and Hamburg`s city center, will be tackled from 1999. The new district is intended to coexist with living, working, leisure and culture.

It all started with the futuristic press building by Gruner & Jahr (architects: Steidle / Kiessler). It follows u.a. Ferry terminal (me di um) or Lofthaus Elbberg (Bothe - Richter - Teherani). Many old buildings are being repurposed, including Stilwerk and the Greenpeace headquarters.

Sights: