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History of Hamburg
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The history of Hamburg begins with its foundation in the ninth century as a mission settlement to convert the Saxons. Since the Middle Ages Hamburg was an important trading centre in Europe. The convenient location of the port and its independence as a city and state for centuries strengthened this position.
The city was member in the medieval Hanseatic trading league and a free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire.
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The history of Hamburg begins with its foundation in the ninth century as a mission settlement to convert the Saxons. Since the Middle Ages Hamburg was an important trading centre in Europe. The convenient location of the port and its independence as a city and state for centuries strengthened this position.
The city was member in the medieval Hanseatic trading league and a free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire. From 1815 until 1866 Hamburg was an independent state of the German Confederation, then the North German Confederation (1866–71), the German Empire (1871–1918) and during the period of the Weimar Republic (1918–33). In Nazi Germany Hamburg was a state and a Gau from 1934 until 1945. After the Second World War Hamburg was in the British Zone of Occupation and became a state in the western part of Germany in the Federal Republic of Germany (Since 1949).
Etymology
A castle was named Hammaburg (where burg means castle). The "Hamma" element remains uncertain. Old High German includes both a hamma, "angle" and a hamme, "pastureland". The angle might refer to a spit of land or to the curvature of a river. However, the language spoken might not have been Old High German, as Low Saxon was spoken there later. Other theories hold that the castle was named for the word of a surrounding vast forest, hammen. Hamm as a place name occurs a number of times in Germany, but its meaning is equally uncertain. It could be related to "heim" and Hamburg could have been placed in the territory of the ancient Chamavi. However, a derivation of "home city" is perhaps too direct, as the city was named after the castle. Another theory is that Hamburg comes from ham which is Old Saxon for shore.
First steps until 1189 AD
First settlers in the area would have been a hunting and gathering society in the late Upper Paleolithic and Neolithic. There are several archaeological documented records in the areas of Wellingsbüttel, Meiendorf and Rahlstedt from 20,000 to 8,000 BC. In 4,000 BC first permanent settlements are recorded in the area of Fischbeker Heide. The culture of hunters is named Hamburg culture.
In 808 AD a castle was ordered to be built by Emperor Charlemagne, as a defense against Slavic and Viking intrusions. Later Charkemange's son Louis build this castle on the old trading path from Hedeby in the North to Magdeburg and Bardowick in 810. On 25 December 831 Ansgar was consecrated as the archbishop for the Hammaburg. Ansgar became later known as the Apostle of the North. Ebbo, Archbishop of Reims claimed to have build a baptistery in a small village in this area and this village was named after him Ebbodorp, Eppendorp or Eppendorf. In 845 Vikings came up the River Elbe and destroyed Hamburg, at that time a town of around 500 inhabitants. Two years later, Hamburg was united with Bremen as the bishopric of Hamburg-Bremen. In 880 Hamburg was destroyed again this time by Slavic and Danish soldiers. Pope Benedict V was deposed and carried of to Hamburg in 964. He died 965 and was buried in the cathedral Mariendom.
In 983, the town was destroyed by King Mstivoj of the Obodrites. In 1050 Hamburg consisted of four castles, the bishoric castle was build around 1037 by Bezelin. The Wiedenburg was build 1043 by Adalbert. The Alsterburg build by Bernard II, Duke of Saxony in 1045 and the new castle build in 1050. After further raids by the Obodrites in 1066 the bishop Adalbert permanently moved to Bremen.
In 1188 Hamburg adopted the Lübeck law (Lübsches Recht), a code of rights superseded in some areas in 1900 by the civil code of Germany (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch), although it is disputed if the law in Hamburg originated from a own law.
On the way 1189–1529
A charter in 1189 by Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor granted Hamburg the status of an Imperial Free City and tax-free access up the Lower Elbe into the North Sea, the right to fish, to cut trees and the freedom of military service. The charter was given orally for Hamburg's backing of Frederick's crusades, and in 1265 an in all probability forged letter was presented to or by the Rath of Hamburg.
In 1190 the bishoric old city and the count's new city created an noble council (Rath). Valdemar II of Denmark raided and occupied Hamburg in 1201 and in 1214 Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor declined all claims of property northern of the river Elbe. Hamburg was controlled by Denmark. The Danish governor united the new and the old parts of Hamburg under one law, town hall and court. A series of Danish defeats culminating in the Battle of Børnehoved on 22 July 1227 cemented the loss of Denmarks north German territories and liberated Hamburg also. Hamburg submitted to Adolf IV of Holstein. From 1230 a new fortification was build. Its layout and names can be found in 2008, e.g. Millerntor-Stadion, named after the western city gate Mildradistor or Mildertor, and the park Planten un Blomen, build on the old fortification.
In 1264 the senate of Hamburg enacted a law to protect the swans of the city. Hard punishments should be given if a swan was beaten to death, insulted, shot or eaten. A popular belief is that Hamburg will be free and hanseatic as long as swans are living on the Alster river. On 5 August 1284 a great fire destroyed all but one residential houses in Hamburg. The first description of civil, criminal and procedural law for a city in Germany in German language, the Ordeelbook (Ordeel: sentence) was written by the solicitor of the senate Jordan von Boitzenburg in 1270. In 1330 it was prohibited for priests to wear masks and dance in the streets. Also after their trips to the ilse in the Alster river, priests should not run naked through the city. In 1350 the Black Death, one of the deadliest pandemics in human history, struck in Hamburg killing more than 6,000, half of the population of Hamburg.
Hanseatic league
Two contracts with Lübeck in 1241 marks the origin and core of the powerful Hanseatic League of trading cities. The first contract stated that both cities would defend their freedom and their privileges together. The second contract stated that the road between the two cities will be secured against bandits and that deported émigré would not find shelter in the other city. In 1264 the East-west route for commerce was cobbled in Hamburg. It was the third cobbled road in northern Europe and called Steinstraße, which is as of 2008 the name of a street in Hamburg until today.
On 8 November 1266 a contract between Henry III and Hamburg's traders allowed them to establish a hanse in London. This was the first time in history the word hanse was mentioned for the trading guild Hanseatic League. In May 1368 a fleet of 37 ships and 2,000 armed men, including two cogs and 200 men from Hamburg, conquered Copenhagen and razed it to the ground. Hamburg's most important export article was beer. In 1377 a new currency, the Mark, was established by the Wendischer Münzverein (Wend curreny assiciation). The cities Hamburg, Lübeck, Luneburg, Wismar and Rostock formed this association. Three tonnes of beer cost one mark. At this time Hamburg's population was 14,000. Hamburg was the third–largest city in the Hanseatic League (after Lübeck and Cologne). There was no city in Germany with more than 20,000 inhabitans. Due to the fact that pirates were a threat to the trading ships, several campaign were fought. On 21 Oktober 1401 the pirate Klaus Störtebeker was executed in Hamburg, although pirates were often thrown over board to drown or decapitated shortly after their capture.
In 1433 Simon van Utrecht defeated the pirates and conquered Emden. Bremen started a war of capturing ships against Hamburg, Lübeck, Lüneburg and the Netherlands in 1438.
First constitution
The first constitution of Hamburg was established on 10 August 1410. A civil commotion caused a compromise (German:Rezeß, literally meaning: withdrawal).
The citizen Hein Brandt has met the duke Johannes of Saxe-Lauenburg, who owed Brandt money. Brandt took the duke to task and insulted him. The duke complained to the senate. The senate cited Brandt and he confessed and was arrested. This caused an uproar and citizens formed a council. At this time the senate was formed by richest citizens, not elected and the senate did not need to give account for its decisions. The situation in Hamburg was unstable because in 1408 members of the senate of Lübeck had found asylum in Hamburg, after they were expelled by the citizens of Lübeck.
The formed council of the sixties (German: der Sechzigerrat) demanded to free Brandt and to enter into negotiations. The mayor Kersten Miles and the senate freed Brandt and agreed after four days of negotiantions to a compromise of 20 points. Some of these points were:
- Article 1. No citizen, poor or rich, is to be arrested without an hearing at the senate ot a court.
- Article 6. The senate is not allowed to begin a war without an hearing of the citizens.
- Article 10. The senate can not grant safe conduct for a person, who owe a citizen of Hamburg.
- Article 13. In case of disputes between the senate and the citizens, these disputes need to be corrected immediately and are not to be delayed by jurists.
- Article 15. Disloyal public servants need to be discharged.Art. 6: Es soll der Rat keinen Krieg anfangen, sondern darüber erst die Bürger fragen.
Art. 10: Der Rat darf niemendem freies Geleit zusichern, der Schulden bei Hamburger Bürgern hat.
Art. 13: Bei Streitigkeiten zwischen Rat und Bürgern sind diese ohne Verzug zu bereinigen und dürfen auch nicht durch Juristen verzögerd werden.
Art. 15: Untreue Bedienstete der Stadt sind zu entlassen.
Verg, p. 39
It is the considered as the first constitution of Hamburg.
The Lutheran church law and its consequences
On 15 May 1529 the city embraced Lutheranism. The senate of Hamburg had asked Martin Luther to send his friend and colleague Johannes Bugenhagen to create a new church regularity. Bugenhagen's work created a state church for Hamburg, the service was held in Low German and the parishs elected their own priests. There was no iconoclasm in Hamburg mostly because of the new priest of St. Petri, who stated the statues of false gods and lying pictures needed to be removed from the churches instantly. He took them down and stored them. At the same time on 24 February, the long compromise (German: Langer Rezeß) reorganized the political system. The senate, now 24 alderman, hold the executive and judicial authority. But without the councilmen of the citizens no laws could be enacted. The councils were elected by the 4 parishes. The parishes were now also administrative divisions of the city.
In 1558 the Hamburg stock market was founded. In 1567 Hamburg asked a group of English traders to settle in the city. This was in conflict with the rules of the Hanseatic League, but Hamburg used the taxes to downsize the public debt. Cause of this debt was Hamburg's constribution to the Schmalkaldic War (1546–1552) between the Lutheran dukes and cities and the emperor.
17th and 18th centuries
19th century
Briefly annexed by Napoleon I (1810–14), Hamburg was the capital of the department Bouches-de-l'Elbe, with Amandus Augustus Abendroth as the new mayor. Hamburg suffered severely during Napoleon's last campaign in Germany but managed to raise two forces to fight against him, the Hamburg Citizen Militia and Hanseatic Legion. The city was besieged for over a year by Allied forces (mostly Russian, Swedish and German). Russian forces under General Bennigsen finally freed the city in 1814.
During the first half of the 19th century a patron goddess with Hamburg's Latin name Hammonia emerged, mostly in romantic and poetic references, and although she has no mythology to call her own, Hammonia became the symbol of the city's spirit during this time.
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In 1842, about a quarter of the inner city was destroyed in the "Great Fire". This fire started on the night of the 4 May 1842 and was extinguished on 8 May. It destroyed three churches, the town hall, and countless other buildings. It killed 51 people, and left an estimated 20,000 homeless. Reconstruction took more than 40 years.
Hamburg experienced its fastest growth during the second half of the 19th century, when its population more than quadrupled to 800,000 as the growth of the city's Atlantic trade helped make it Europe's third-largest port.
20th century
With Albert Ballin as its director the Hamburg-America Line became the world's largest transatlantic shipping company at the turn of the century, and Hamburg was also home to shipping companies to South America, Africa, India and East Asia. Hamburg became a cosmopolitan metropolis based on worldwide trade. Hamburg was the port for most Germans and Eastern Europeans to leave for the New World and became home to trading communities from all over the world (like a small Chinatown in Altona, Hamburg).
In 1903, the world's first organised club for social and family nudism, Freilichtpark (Free-Light Park) was opened in Hamburg. It was located on a lake formed by the Alster River in the southern part of the city, adjoining a bathing beach. After World War I Germany lost her colonies and Hamburg lost many of its trade routes.
In Nazi Germany
After the takeover of power by the Nazi regime, administrative powers were significantly altered. The Gesetz über den Neuaufbau des Reiches (Law concerning the reconstruction of the Reich) (30 January 1934) abandoned the concept of a federal republic. The political institutions of the Länder were practically abolished altogether, passing all powers to the central government. The German constituent states were replaced in 1935 by regional districts (German: Gau) led by Nazi Party officials who obeyed the central government's orders. On 16 May 1933 Karl Kaufmann (1900–1969) was appointed as Reichsstatthalter (imperial governor or imperial lieutenant) in Hamburg. The Hamburg Senate had resigned in March 1933 and the Hamburg Parliament elected Carl Vincent Krogmann (NSDAP) as mayor.
In 1938 the city boundaries were extended with the Greater Hamburg Act to incorporate Wandsbek, Harburg, Wilhelmsburg and Altona. On 1 April 1938 Constitution of Hamburg was suppressed through an Imperial Law (German: Reichsgesetz), the Hamburg Senate was disolved and the position of First Mayor of Hamburg abolished. Hamburg was named Hansestadt Hamburg.
During World War II Hamburg suffered a series of devastating air raids which killed 42,000 German civilians. Through this, and the new zoning guidelines of the 1960s, the inner city lost much of its architectural past. From 1938 until 1945 a concentration camp was established in the Neuengamme quarter of Hamburg, some of the buildings have been preserved and as of 2008 serve as a memorial. From 1939 until 1945 more than 500,000 men, women and children — including prisoners of war — were forced to work at more than 900 companies, living in more than 1,200 camps all over Hamburg. Some of these camps held only 7 inmates, others were known for more than 1,500 inmates.
After the Second World War
The Iron Curtain — only east of Hamburg — separated the city from most of its hinterland and further reduced Hamburg's global trade. On 16 February 1962 a severe storm caused the Elbe to rise to an all-time high, inundating one fifth of Hamburg and killing more than 300 people.
A group of radical Islamists that included students who eventually came to be key operatives in the 9/11 attacks, according to U.S. and German intelligence agencies, was called the Hamburg cell.
In the 2000s
After German reunification in 1990, and the accession of some Eastern European and Baltic States into the EU in 2004, Hamburg Harbour and Hamburg have ambitions for regaining their positions as the region's largest deep-sea port for container shipping and its major commercial and trading centre.
See also
External links
- . Retrieved 1 October 2008.
- . More detailed German website. Retrieved 1 October 2008.
- . (In German)
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