The nameHamburg comes from the first permanent building on the site, a castle which the EmperorCharlemagne ordered constructed in AD 808. It rose on rocky terrain in a marsh between theRiver Alster and theRiver Elbe as a defence againstSlavic incursion, and acquired the nameHammaburg,burg meaning castle or fort. The origin of theHamma term remains uncertain,[15] but its location is estimated to be at the site of today'sHammaburgplatz.[16][17]
In 834 CE, Hamburg was designated as the seat of abishopric. The first bishop,Ansgar, became known as the Apostle of the North. Two years later, Hamburg was united withBremen as theBishopric of Hamburg-Bremen.[18]
Hamburg was destroyed and occupied several times. In 845, 600Viking ships sailed up theRiver Elbe and destroyed Hamburg, at that time a town of around 500 inhabitants.[18] In 1030, KingMieszko II Lambert ofPoland burned down the city.Valdemar II of Denmark raided and occupied Hamburg in 1201 and in 1214. TheBlack Death killed at least 60% of the population in 1350.Hamburg experienced several great fires in the medieval period.[19]
In 1189, by imperial charter,Frederick I "Barbarossa" granted Hamburg the status of aFree Imperial City and tax-free access (orfree-trade zone) up the Lower Elbe into the North Sea. In 1265, an allegedly forged letter was presented to or by the Rath of Hamburg.[20] This charter, along with Hamburg's proximity to the main trade routes of theNorth Sea andBaltic Sea, quickly made it a major port in Northern Europe. Its trade alliance withLübeck in 1241 marks the origin and core of the powerful Hanseatic League of trading cities. On 8 November 1266, a contract betweenHenry III and Hamburg's traders allowed them to establish ahanse in London. This was the first time in history that the wordhanse was used for the trading guild of theHanseatic League.[21]In 1270, the solicitor of thesenate of Hamburg,Jordan vonBoitzenburg, wrote the first description of civil, criminal and procedural law for a city in Germany in the German language, theOrdeelbook (Ordeel: sentence).[22] On 10 August 1410, civil unrest forced a compromise (German:Rezeß, literally meaning: withdrawal). This is considered the firstconstitution of Hamburg.[23]
In 1356, theMatthiae-Mahl feast dinner forHanseatic League cities was celebrated for the first time on 25 February, the first day of spring in medieval times. It continues today as the world's oldest ceremonial meal.[24]
WhenJan van Valckenborgh introduced a second layer to the fortifications to protect against theThirty Years' War in the seventeenth century, he extended Hamburg and created a "New Town" (Neustadt) whose street names still date from the grid system of roads he introduced.[25]
From the autumn of 1696 to the spring of 1697 theCompany of Scotland trading to Africa and the Indies was active in Hamburg. While it was unsuccessful in raising capital locally, it commissioned the construction of four vessels in the port. TheCaledonia, a ship of 600 tons with 56 guns, and theInstuaration (later renamed theSt. Andrew), a vessel of 350 tons, were launched in March 1697.[26]
Upon the dissolution of theHoly Roman Empire in 1806, theFree Imperial City of Hamburg was not incorporated into a larger administrative area while retaining special privileges (mediatised), but became asovereign state with the official title of theFree and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. Hamburg was briefly annexed byNapoleon I to theFirst French Empire (1804–1814/1815). Russian forces underGeneral Bennigsen finally freed the city in 1814. Hamburg re-assumed its pre-1811 status as a city-state in 1814. TheVienna Congress of 1815 confirmed Hamburg's independence and it became one of 39 sovereign states of theGerman Confederation (1815–1866).
In 1842, about a quarter of the inner city was destroyed in the "Great Fire". The fire started on the night of 4 May and was not extinguished until 8 May. It destroyed three churches, the town hall, and many other buildings, killing 51 people and leaving an estimated 20,000 homeless. Reconstruction took more than 40 years.
Hamburg in 1811
After periodic political unrest, particularly in1848, Hamburg adopted in 1860 a semidemocratic constitution that provided for the election of the Senate, the governing body of the city-state, by adult taxpaying males. Other innovations included the separation of powers, the separation of Church and State, freedom of the press, of assembly and association. Hamburg became a member of theNorth German Confederation (1866–1871) and of theGerman Empire (1871–1918), and maintained its self-ruling status during theWeimar Republic (1919–1933).Hamburg acceded to the German Customs Union or Zollverein in 1888, the last (along with Bremen) of the German states to join. The city 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'sAtlantic trade helped make it Europe's second-largest port.[27] TheHamburg-America Line, withAlbert Ballin as its director, became the world's largesttransatlantic shipping company around the start of the 20th century. Shipping companies sailing to South America, Africa, India and East Asia were based in the city. Hamburg was the departure port for many Germans and Eastern Europeans to emigrate to the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Trading communities from all over the world established themselves there.
A majoroutbreak of cholera in 1892 was badly handled by the city government, which retained an unusual degree of independence for a German city. About 8,600 died in the largest German epidemic of the late 19th century, and the last major cholera epidemic in a major city of the Western world.
HamburgEilbek after the1943 bombing; today around 25% of Hamburg's buildings are from before the Second World War[28]
Hamburg was aGau within theadministrative division of Nazi Germany from 1934 until 1945. During theSecond World War, theAllied bombing of Hamburg devastated much of the city and the harbour. On 23 July 1943, theRoyal Air Force (RAF) andUnited States Army Air Force firebombing created afirestorm which spread from theHauptbahnhof (main railway station) and quickly moved south-east, completely destroying entire boroughs such asHammerbrook,Billbrook andHamm South. Thousands of people perished in these densely populated working class boroughs. The raids, codenamedOperation Gomorrah by the RAF, killed at least 42,600 civilians; the precise number is not known.[citation needed] About one million civilians were evacuated in the aftermath of the raids. While some of the boroughs destroyed were rebuilt as residential districts after the war, others such as Hammerbrook were entirely developed into office, retail and limited residential or industrial districts.
On 16 February 1962, aNorth Sea flood caused the Elbe to rise to an all-time high, inundating one-fifth of Hamburg and killing more than 300 people.
Theinner German border – only 50 kilometres (30 mi) east of Hamburg – separated the city from most of its hinterland and reduced Hamburg's global trade. SinceGerman reunification in 1990, and the accession of several Central European andBaltic countries into theEuropean Union in 2004, thePort of Hamburg has restarted ambitions for regaining its position as the region's largest deep-sea port for container shipping and its major commercial and trading centre.
Hamburg has anoceanic climate (Köppen:Cfb;Trewartha:Dobk), influenced by its proximity to the coast and maritime influences that originate over the Atlantic Ocean. The location in the north of Germany provides extremes greater than typical marine climates, but definitely in the category due to the prevailing westerlies.[35] Nearby wetlands enjoy a maritime temperate climate. The amount of snowfall has varied greatly in recent decades. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, heavy snowfall sometimes occurred,[36] the winters of recent years have been less cold, with snowfall just a few days per year.[37][38]
The warmest months are June, July, and August, with high temperatures of 20.1 to 22.5 °C (68.2 to 72.5 °F). The coldest are December, January, and February, with low temperatures of −0.3 to 1.0 °C (31.5 to 33.8 °F).[39] The annual extreme temperatures range from −29.1 °C (−20.4 °F) on 13 February 1940, to 40.1 °C (104.2 °F) on20 July 2022, and the latter was measured at Hamburg-Neuwiedenthal Meteorological Station, on the same day, a high temperature record of 39.1 °C (102.4 °F) was recorded atHamburg Airport.[40]
On 31 December 2016, there were 1,860,759 people registered as living in Hamburg in an area of 755.3 km2 (291.6 sq mi). The population density was 2,464/km2 (6,380/sq mi).[45] The metropolitan area of the Hamburg region (Hamburg Metropolitan Region) is home to 5,107,429 living on 196/km2 (510/sq mi).[46]
There were 915,319 women and 945,440 men in Hamburg. For every 1,000 females, there were 1,033 males. In 2015, there were 19,768 births in Hamburg (of which 38.3% were to unmarried women); 6422 marriages and 3190 divorces, and 17,565 deaths. In the city, the population was spread out, with 16.1% under the age of 18, and 18.3% were 65 years of age or older. 356 people in Hamburg were over the age of 100.[47]
According to the Statistical Office for Hamburg andSchleswig-Holstein, the number of people with a migrant background is at 34% (631,246).[48] Immigrants come from 200 countries. 5,891 people have acquired German cititzenship in 2016.[49]
In 2016, there were 1,021,666 households, of which 17.8% had children under the age of 18; 54.4% of all households were made up of singles. 25.6% of all households were single parent households. The average household size was 1.8.[50]
Hamburg has the largestPortuguese community in Germany with about 30,000 people withPortuguese heritage. Many Portuguese sailors and merchants came to Hamburg beginning in the 15th century due to itsport. Since the 1970s, there has been a district in Hamburg called thePortugiesenviertel [de] (Portuguese quarter) where many Portuguese people settled and which has a variety of Portuguese restaurants, cafes and shops that attract many tourists. There are several statues, squares and streets in Hamburg that are named after Portuguese historical figures. These include theVasco da Gama statue on the Kornhaus bridge, which was suggested by Portuguese residents to bring visibility to the Portuguese community in Hamburg.[51]
Hamburg'sAfghan community of about 50,000 people is the largest not only in Germany, but also in Europe. They first came to Hamburg in the 1970s before expanding during theAfghan conflict in the 1980s and 1990s where many Afghan migrants chose to live in Hamburg.[52] After 2015 the Afghan population almost doubled due to a new influx from the migrant crisis. There is an area in Hamburg behind the central station where many Afghan restaurants and shops are located. Manycarpet businesses inSpeicherstadt are operated by Afghan traders,[53] with Hamburg still a global leader in the trade of oriental rugs.[54]
As elsewhere in Germany,Standard German is spoken in Hamburg, but as typical for northern Germany, the original language of Hamburg isLow German, usually referred to asHamborger Platt (GermanHamburger Platt) orHamborgsch. Since large-scalestandardisation of the German language beginning in earnest in the 18th century, various Low German-coloured dialects have developed (contact-varieties of German on Low Saxon substrates). Originally, there was a range of suchMissingsch varieties, the best-known being the low-prestige ones of the working classes and the somewhat more bourgeoisHanseatendeutsch (Hanseatic German), although the term is used in appreciation.[55] All of these are now moribund due to the influences of Standard German used by education and media. However, the former importance of Low German is indicated by several songs, such as thesea shantyHamborger Veermaster, written in the 19th century when Low German was used more frequently. Many toponyms and street names reflect Low Saxon vocabulary, partially even in Low Saxon spelling, which is not standardised, and to some part in forms adapted to Standard German.[56]
According to the publicationMuslimisches Leben in Deutschland ("Muslim life in Germany"), an estimated 141,900 Muslim migrants (from nearly 50 countries of origin) lived in Hamburg in 2008.[58] About three years later (May 2011) calculations based on census data for 21 countries of origin resulted in a figure of about 143,200 Muslim migrants in Hamburg, making up 8.4% percent of the population.[59] As of 2021[update], there were more than 50 mosques in the city,[60] including theAhmadiyya runFazle Omar Mosque, which is the oldest in the city,[61] and which hosts theIslamic Centre Hamburg.
A Jewish Community also exists.[62] As of 2022, around 2,500 Jews live in Hamburg.[63]
The city of Hamburg is one of 16German states, therefore theMayor of Hamburg's office corresponds more to the role of aminister-president than to that of a city mayor. As aGerman state government, it is responsible for public education, correctional institutions and public safety; as a municipality, it is additionally responsible for libraries, recreational facilities, sanitation, water supply and welfare services.
Since 1897, the seat of the government has beenHamburg City Hall (Hamburg Rathaus), with the office of the mayor, the meeting room for the Senate and the floor for theHamburg Parliament.[64] From 2001 until 2010, the mayor of Hamburg wasOle von Beust,[65] who governed in Germany's first statewide "black-green" coalition, consisting of the conservativeCDU Hamburg and the alternative GAL, which are Hamburg's regional wing of theAlliance 90/The Greens party.[66] Von Beust was briefly succeeded byChristoph Ahlhaus in 2010, but the coalition broke apart on 28 November 2010.[67] On 7 March 2011Olaf Scholz (SPD) became mayor. After the 2015 election the SPD and theAlliance 90/The Greens formed a coalition.
Hamburg is made up of seven boroughs (German:Bezirke) and subdivided into 104 quarters (German:Stadtteile). There are 181 localities (German:Ortsteile). The urban organisation is regulated by the Constitution of Hamburg and several laws.[9][68] Most of the quarters were former independent cities, towns or villages annexed into Hamburg proper. The last large annexation was done through theGreater Hamburg Act of 1937, when the citiesAltona,Harburg, andWandsbek were merged into the state of Hamburg.[69] TheAct of the Constitution and Administration of Hanseatic city of Hamburg established Hamburg as a state and a municipality.[70] Some of the boroughs and quarters have been rearranged several times.
Each borough is governed by a Borough Council (German:Bezirksversammlung) and administered by a Municipal Administrator (German:Bezirksamtsleiter). The boroughs are not independent municipalities: their power is limited and subordinate to theSenate of Hamburg. The borough administrator is elected by the Borough Council and thereafter requires confirmation and appointment by Hamburg's Senate.[68] The quarters have no governing bodies of their own.
The part of the North Sea in this aerial picture is called theHamburg Wadden Sea National Park and belongs administratively to the borough of Hamburg-Mitte. Some 50 people live here on the island Neuwerk (visible just above the centre).
Historicist Palmaille,Altona. Nearly 25.000 buildings in Hamburg are from thoseGründerzeit times.The Marco-Polo-Centre (left) and Unilever HQ Germany
Further information on a building type for school buildings in Hamburg:Kreuzbau
Hamburg has architecturally significant buildings in a wide range of styles and just one skyscraper under construction (seeList of tallest buildings in Hamburg). Churches are important landmarks, such asSt Nicholas', which for a short time in the 19th century was the world's tallest building. The skyline features the tall spires of the most important churches (Hauptkirchen)St Michael's (nicknamed "Michel"),St Peter's,St James's (St. Jacobi), andSt. Catherine's covered with copper plates, and theHeinrich-Hertz-Turm, the radio and television tower (no longer publicly accessible).
The Chilehaus with a typical brick expressionist façade
Thetown hall is a richly decorated Neo-Renaissance building finished in 1897.The tower is 112 metres (367 ft) high. Its façade, 111 m (364 ft) long, depicts the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire, since Hamburg was, as a Free Imperial City, only under the sovereignty of the emperor.[75] TheChilehaus, abrick expressionist office building built in 1922 and designed by architectFritz Höger, is shaped like an ocean liner.
Europe's largest urban development since 2008, theHafenCity, will house about 15,000 inhabitants and 45,000 workers.[76] The plan includes designs byRem Koolhaas andRenzo Piano. TheElbphilharmonie(Elbe Philharmonic Hall), opened in January 2017, houses concerts in a sail-shaped building on top of an old warehouse, designed by architectsHerzog & de Meuron.[77][78]
The many parks are distributed over the whole city, which makes Hamburg a very verdant city. The biggest parks are theStadtpark, theOhlsdorf Cemetery, andPlanten un Blomen. TheStadtpark, Hamburg's "Central Park", has a great lawn and a huge water tower, which houses one of Europe's biggestplanetaria. The park and its buildings were designed byFritz Schumacher in the 1910s.
The lavish and spaciousPlanten un Blomen park (Low German dialect for "plants and flowers") located in the centre of Hamburg is the green heart of the city. Within the park are various thematic gardens, the biggest Japanese garden in Germany, and theAlter Botanischer Garten Hamburg, which is a historicbotanical garden that now consists primarily ofgreenhouses.
TheBotanischer Garten Hamburg is a modernbotanical garden maintained by theUniversity of Hamburg. Besides these, there are many more parks of various sizes. In 2014 Hamburg celebrated a birthday of park culture, where many parks were reconstructed and cleaned up. Moreover, every year there are water-light-concerts in thePlanten un Blomen park, from May to early October.
Abel Seyler, one of the great theatre principals of 18th century Europe, established Hamburg as a major centre of theatrical innovation in the 1760s.
From the 1760s the theatre directorAbel Seyler—the leader of theHamburg National Theatre and subsequently theSeyler Theatre Company—established Hamburg as one of the leading European centres of theatrical innovation, promoting experimental productions and pioneering a new more realist style of acting, introducing Shakespeare to a German language audience, and promoting the concept of a national theatre in the tradition of Ludvig Holberg, theSturm und Drang playwrights, and seriousGerman opera.[79]
Today Hamburg has more than 40 theatres, 60 museums, and 100 music venues and clubs. With 6.6 music venues per 100,000 inhabitants, Hamburg has the second-highest density of music venues of Germany's largest cities, after Munich and ahead of Cologne and Berlin.[80][81] In 2005, more than 18 million people visited concerts, exhibitions, theatres, cinemas, museums, and cultural events, and 8,552 taxable companies (average size 3.16 employees) were engaged in the culture sector, which includes music, performing arts, and literature.[82] The creative industries represent almost one fifth of all companies in Hamburg.[83]Hamburg has entered theEuropean Green Capital Award scheme, and was awarded the title of European Green Capital for 2011.
TheEnglish Theatre of Hamburg, near theU3 station Mundsburg, was founded in 1976 and is the oldest professional English-language theatre in Germany, with exclusively English-speaking actors in its company.
BallinStadt, a memorial park and former emigration station, is dedicated to the millions of Europeans who emigrated to North and South America between 1850 and 1939. Visitors descending from those overseas emigrants may search for their ancestors at computer terminals.
Hamburg is the birthplace ofJohannes Brahms, who spent his formative early years in the city, and the birthplace and home of waltz composerOscar Fetrás, who wrote the "Mondnacht auf der Alster" waltz.
In addition to musicals, opera houses, concert halls, and theatres, the cityscape is characterised by a large music scene. This includes, among other things, over 100 music venues, several annual festivals and over 50 event organisers based in Hamburg.[88] Larger venues include theBarclaycard Arena, theBahrenfeld harness racing track, andHamburg City Park.
Hamburg was an important centre of rock music in the early 1960s.The Beatles lived and played in Hamburg from August 1960 to December 1962. They proved popular and gained local acclaim. Prior to the group's initial recording and widespread fame, Hamburg provided residency and performing venues for the band during the time they performed there. One of the venues they performed at was theStar Club on St. Pauli.
An important meeting place for Hamburg musicians from the 1970s to the mid-80s was the jazz pubOnkel Pö, which was originally founded in the Pöseldorf neighbourhood and later moved to Eppendorf. Many musicians who were counted as part of the "Hamburg scene [de]" met here. In addition to Udo Lindenberg, these includedOtto Waalkes, Hans Scheibner and groups such asTorfrock andFrumpy. One of the members of the band Frumpy was the Hamburg-born singer and composerInga Rumpf.
Hamburg is the origin of the "Hamburger Schule", a term used for alternative music bands likeTocotronic,Blumfeld,Tomte or Kante. The meeting point of the Hamburg School was long considered to be theGolden Pudel Club [de] in Altona's old town, near the Fischmarkt. Alongside clubs such as the Pal, the Moondoo or the Waagenbau, today the Pudel is a central location of the Hamburg electro scene. Artists of this scene include the DJ duoMoonbootica, Mladen Solomun, andHelena Hauff.[90]
Hamburg is also home to many music labels, music distributors and publishers. These includeWarner Music,Kontor Records,PIAS,Edel SE & Co. KGaA, Believe Digital, and Indigo. The high proportion of independent labels in the city, which includeAudiolith, Dial Records,Grand Hotel van Cleef, among others, is striking. Before its closure, the labelL'Âge d'or also belonged to these.
In the late 1990s, Hamburg was considered one of the strongholds of the German hip-hop scene. Bands likeBeginner shaped the city's hip-hop style and made it a serious location for the hip-hop scene through songs like "Hamburg City Blues". In addition to Beginner, German hip-hop acts from Hamburg includeFünf Sterne Deluxe,Samy Deluxe,Fettes Brot, and187 Strassenbande.[92]
Hamburg has a vibrant psychedelic trance community, with record labels such asSpirit Zone.[93]
Hamburg is noted for several festivals and regular events. Some of them are street festivals, such as theLGBT prideHamburg Pride festival[94] or the Alster fair (German:Alstervergnügen),[95] held at theBinnenalster. TheHamburger DOM is northern Germany's biggest funfair, held three times a year.[96]Hafengeburtstag is afunfair to honour the birthday of the port of Hamburg with a party and a ship parade.[97] The annual biker's service inSaint Michael's Church attracts tens of thousands ofbikers.[98] Christmas markets in December are held at theHamburg Rathaus square, among other places.[99] Thelong night of museums (German:Lange Nacht der Museen) offers one entrance fee for about 40 museums until midnight.[100] The sixthFestival of Cultures was held in September 2008, celebrating multi-cultural life.[101] TheFilmfest Hamburg — a film festival originating from the 1950sFilm Days (German:Film Tage) — presents a wide range of films.[102] TheHamburg Messe and Congress offers a venue for trade shows, suchhanseboot, an international boat show, orDu und deine Welt, a large consumer products show.[103] Regular sports events—some open to pro and amateur participants—are the cycling competitionEuroEyes Cyclassics, theHamburg Marathon, the biggest marathon in Germany after Berlin,[104] the tennis tournamentHamburg Masters, and equestrian events like theDeutsches Derby.
Hamburg is also known for its music and festival culture. For example, the Reeperbahn alone has between 25 and 30 million visitors every year. In addition, there are over a million visitors to the annual festivals and major music events.[105] Hamburg's festivals include theElbjazz FestivalArchived 20 April 2021 at theWayback Machine, which takes place 2 days a year (usually on the Whitsun weekend) in Hamburg's harbour and HafenCity.
Shellac performing live in Hamburg @Kampnagel, Nov. 1, 2014
For contemporary and experimental music, the "blurred edgesArchived 20 April 2021 at theWayback Machine" festival usually follows in May at various venues within Hamburg. In mid-August, theMS Dockville music and arts festival has run annually since 2007 in theWilhelmsburg district.[106] This is followed at the end of September by theReeperbahn Festival [de], which has been running since 2006. As Europe's largest club festival, it offers several hundred program points around the Reeperbahn in Hamburg over four days and is one of the most important meeting places for the music industry worldwide.[107] In November, the ÜBERJAZZ Festival, which aims to expand the stylistic boundaries of the concept of jazz, starts every year at Kampnagel.[108]
Original Hamburg dishes areBirnen, Bohnen und Speck (green beans cooked with pears and bacon).[109]Aalsuppe (HamburgischOolsupp) is often mistaken to be German for "eel soup" (Aal/Ool translated 'eel'), but the name probably comes from the Low Saxonallns[aˑlns], meaning "all", "everything and the kitchen sink", not necessarily eel. Today eel is often included to meet the expectations of unsuspecting diners.[110] There isBratkartoffeln (pan-fried potato slices),Finkenwerder Scholle (Low SaxonFinkwarder Scholl, pan-fried plaice),Pannfisch (pan-fried fish with mustard sauce),[111]Rote Grütze (Low SaxonRode Grütt, related to Danishrødgrød, a type of summer pudding made mostly from berries and usually served with cream, like Danishrødgrød med fløde),[112] andLabskaus (a mixture of corned beef, mashed potatoes, and beetroot, a cousin of the Norwegianlapskaus andLiverpool'slobscouse, all offshoots off an old-time one-pot meal that used to be the main component of the common sailor's humdrum diet on the high seas).[113]
Alsterwasser (in reference to the city's river, theAlster) is the local name for a type ofshandy, a concoction of equal parts of beer and carbonated lemonade (Zitronenlimonade), the lemonade being added to the beer.[114]
A regional dessert pastry called "Franzbrötchen" is similar in preparation to acroissant, but includes a cinnamon and sugar filling, often with raisins or brown sugarstreusel. Ordinary bread rolls tend to be oval-shaped and of the French bread variety. The local name isSchrippe (scored lengthways) for the oval kind and, for the round kind,Rundstück ("round piece" rather than mainstream GermanBrötchen, diminutive form ofBrot "bread"),[115] a relative of Denmark'srundstykke. The cuisines of Hamburg andDenmark, especially ofCopenhagen, have a lot in common. This also includes a predilection for open-faced sandwiches of all sorts, especially topped with cold-smoked or pickled fish.[citation needed]
The Americanhamburger may have developed from Hamburg'sFrikadeller: a pan-fried patty (usually larger and thicker than its American counterpart) made from a mixture of ground beef, soakedstale bread, egg, chopped onion, salt, and pepper, usually served with potatoes and vegetables like any other piece of meat, not usually on a bun. The Oxford Dictionary defined aHamburger steak in 1802: a sometimes-smoked and -salted piece of meat, that, according to some sources, came from Hamburg to America.[116] The name and food, "hamburger", has entered all English-speaking countries, and derivative words in non-English speaking countries.
There are restaurants which offer most of these dishes, especially in theHafenCity.
Hamburg has long been a centre of alternative music and counter-culture movements. The boroughs ofSt. Pauli,Sternschanze, andAltona are known for being home to many radical left-wing and anarchist groups, culminating every year during the traditional May Day demonstrations.[117]
During the2017 G20 summit, which took place in Hamburg from 7–8 July that year, protestors clashed violently with the police in theSternschanze area and particularly around the Rote Flora. On 7 July, several cars were set on fire and street barricades were erected to prevent the police from entering the area. In response to that, the police made heavy use of water cannons and tear gas in order to scatter the protestors. However, this was met with strong resistance by protestors, resulting in a total of 160 injured police and 75 arrested participants in the protests.[118]
After the summit, however, the Rote Flora issued a statement, in which it condemns the arbitrary acts of violence that were committed by some of the protestors whilst generally defending the right to use violence as a means of self-defence against police oppression. In particular, the spokesperson of the Rote Flora said that the autonomous cultural centre had a traditionally good relationship with its neighbours and local residents, since they were united in their fight against gentrification in that neighbourhood.[119]
There are several English-speaking communities, such as the Caledonian Society of Hamburg, The British Club Hamburg, British and Commonwealth Luncheon Club, Anglo-German Clube.V.,[120] Professional Women's Forum,[121] The British Decorative and Fine Arts Society, The English Speaking Union of the Commonwealth, The Scottish Country Dancers of Hamburg, The Hamburg Players e.V. English Language Theatre Group, TheHamburg Exiles Rugby Club, several cricket clubs, and The Morris Minor Register of Hamburg. Furthermore, the Anglo-Hanseatic Lodge No. 850[122] within the Grand Lodge of British Freemasons of Germany[123] under the United Grand Lodges of Germany[124] works in Hamburg, and has a diverse expat membership. There is also a 400-year-old Anglican church community worshipping atSt Thomas Becket Church [de].[125]
American and international English-speaking organisations include The American Club of Hamburge.V.,[126] the American Women's Club of Hamburg,[127] the English Speaking Union, the German-American Women's Club,[128] and The International Women's Club of Hamburg e.V.The American Chamber of Commerce handles matters related to business affairs.[129] TheInternational School of Hamburg serves school children.
A Hamburg saying, referring to its anglophile nature, is: "Wenn es in London anfängt zu regnen, spannen die Hamburger den Schirm auf". ... "When it starts raining in London, people in Hamburg open their umbrellas".
In 2009, more than 2,500 "stumbling blocks" (Stolpersteine) were laid, engraved with the names of deported and murdered citizens. Inserted into the pavement in front of their former houses, the blocks draw attention to the victims of Nazi persecution.[133]
The gross domestic product (GDP) of Hamburg was 119.0 billion € in 2018, accounting for 3.6% of German economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was €59,600 or 197% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 132% of the EU average.[134] The city has a relatively high employment rate, at 88 percent of the working-age population, employed in over 160,000 businesses. The median gross salary in 2021 was €47,544, which is 9.29% higher than the median gross salary in Germany overall.[135]
The unemployment rate stood at 6.1% in October 2018 and was higher than the German average.[136]
The most significant economic unit is the Port of Hamburg, which ranks third toRotterdam andAntwerpen in Europe and 17th-largest worldwide, with transshipments of 8.9 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) of cargo and 138.2 million tons of goods in 2016.[138] International trade is also the reason for the large number of consulates in the city. Although situated 110 kilometres (70 mi) up the Elbe, it is considered a sea port due to its ability to handle large ocean-going vessels.[139]
The HafenCity is Europe's largest urban development project and is located in theHamburg-Mitte district. It consists of the area of the Great Grasbrook, the northern part of the former Elbe islandGrasbrook, and the warehouse district on the former Elbe island Kehrwieder and Wandrahm. It is bordered to the north, separated by the customs channel to Hamburg's city centre, west and south by the Elbe, and to the east, bounded by the upper harbour,Rothenburgsort. The district is full of rivers and streams and is surrounded by channels, and has a total area of about 2.2 square-kilometres.
HafenCity has 155hectares (383acres) in the area formerly belonging to the free port north of the Great Grasbrook. Residential units for up to 12,000 people are planned to be built on the site by around the mid-2020s, and jobs for up to 40,000 people, mainly in the office sector, should be created. It is the largest ongoing urban development project in Hamburg.
Construction work started in 2003, and in 2009 the first part of the urban development project was finished with the completion of the Dalmannkai / Sandtorkai neighbourhood – which is the first stage of the HafenCity project. According to the person responsible for the development and commercialisation of HafenCity,HafenCity Hamburg GmbH, half of the master plan underlying structural construction is already completed, whereas the other half is either under construction or is in the construction preparation stages.
City logo of HamburgNeuer Wall, one of Europe's most luxurious shopping streets
In 2017, more than 6,783,000 visitors with 13,822,000 overnight stays visited the city.[142] The tourism sector employs more than 175,000 people full-time and brings inrevenue of almost €9 billion, making the tourism industry a major economic force in the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. Hamburg has one of the fastest-growing tourism industries in Germany. From 2001 to 2007, the overnight stays in the city increased by 55.2% (Berlin +52.7%,Mecklenburg-Vorpommern +33%).[143]
The area ofReeperbahn, in the quarterSt. Pauli, is Europe's largest red light district and home of strip clubs, brothels, bars, and nightclubs. The singer and actorHans Albers is strongly associated with St. Pauli, and wrote the neighbourhood's unofficial anthem, "Auf der Reeperbahn Nachts um Halb Eins" ("On the Reeperbahn at Half Past Midnight"), in the 1940s.The Beatles had stints on the Reeperbahn early in their careers. Others prefer the laid-back neighbourhoodSchanze, with its street cafés, or a barbecue on one of the beaches along the river Elbe. Hamburg's zoo, theTierpark Hagenbeck, was founded in 1907 byCarl Hagenbeck as the first zoo with moated, barless enclosures.[144]
In 2016, the average visitor spent two nights in Hamburg.[145] The majority of visitors come from Germany. Most foreigners are European, especially fromDenmark (395,681 overnight stays), the United Kingdom (301,000 overnight stays),Switzerland (340,156 overnight stays),Austria (about 252,397 overnight stays), and theNetherlands (about 182,610 overnight stays).[145] The largest group from outside Europe comes from the United States (206,614 overnight stays).[145]
TheQueen Mary 2 has docked regularly since 2004, and there were six departures planned from 2010 onwards.[146]
A total of about 2,000 companies are located in Hamburg that are active in the music industry. With over 17,000 employees and a gross value added of around 640 million euros, this industry is one of the strongest in the city.[148] TheInteressengemeinschaft Hamburger Musikwirtschaft [de] and theClubkombinat represent the companies in the industry. The interests of Hamburg musicians* are represented, for example, byRockCity Hamburg e.V.Archived 9 May 2021 at theWayback Machine.
Hamburg was one of the locations for theJames Bond series filmTomorrow Never Dies. TheReeperbahn has been the location for many scenes, including the 1994 Beatles filmBackbeat.[149] The filmA Most Wanted Man was set in and filmed in Hamburg. Hamburg was also shown inAn American Tail, where Fievel Mousekewitz and his family immigrate to America in the hopes to escape cats.
Hamburg has 54 hospitals. TheUniversity Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, with about 1,736 beds, houses a large medical school. There are also smaller private hospitals. On 1 January 2011 there were about 12,507 hospital beds.[150] The city had 5,663 physicians in private practice and 456 pharmacies in 2010.[151]
Hamburg is a major transportation hub, connected to fourAutobahnen (motorways) and the most important railway junction on the route to Scandinavia.
Bridges and tunnels connect the northern and southern parts of the city, such as theold Elbe Tunnel (Alter Elbtunnel) or St. Pauli Elbtunnel (official name), which opened in 1911, today a major tourist sight, and theElbe Tunnel (Elbtunnel), the crossing of amotorway.[152]
Hamburg'slicence plate prefix was "HH" (Hansestadt Hamburg; English: Hanseatic City of Hamburg) between 1906 and 1945 and from 1956 onwards, rather than the single letter normally used for large cities since the federal registration reform in 1956, such as B for Berlin or M for Munich. "H" was Hamburg's prefix in the years between 1945 and 1947 (used byHanover since 1956).[156]
Public transport by rail, bus, and ship is organised by theHamburger Verkehrsverbund ("Hamburg transit authority") (HVV). Tickets sold by one company are valid on all other HVV companies' services. The HVV was the first organisation of this kind worldwide.[157]
33 mass transit rail lines across the city are the backbone of public transport.[158] TheS-Bahn (commuter train system) comprises six lines and theU-Bahn four lines –U-Bahn is short forUntergrundbahn (underground railway). Approximately 41 km (25 mi) of 101 km (63 mi) of the U-Bahn is underground; most is on embankments or viaduct or at ground level. Older residents still speak of the system asHochbahn (elevated railway), also because the operating company of the subway is theHamburger Hochbahn. TheAKN railway connects satellite towns in Schleswig-Holstein to the city. On some routes regional trains of Germany's major railway companyDeutsche Bahn AG and the regionalmetronom trains may be used with an HVV ticket. Regional trains stop at various stations within city limits such as the four larger stations,Hauptbahnhof,Dammtor,Altona, andHarburg, as well as Hamburg Hasselbrook and Hamburg Bergedorf. Thetram system was opened in 1866 and shut down in 1978.[159]
Gaps in the rail network are filled by more than 669 bus routes, operated by single-deck two-, three- and four-axle diesel buses.[158] Hamburg has no trams ortrolleybuses, but has hydrogen-fuelled buses. The buses run frequently during working hours, with buses on theMetroBus routes running every ten minutes from 6 am to 9 pm. On special weekday night lines the intervals can be 30 minutes or more, while on normal days (Monday-Friday) normal buses stop running at night (some lines run 24 hours a day, every day of the year at least every half hour).[160]
There are eight ferry lines along theRiver Elbe, operated byHADAG, that fall under the aegis of the HVV. While mainly used by citizens and dock workers, they can also be used for sightseeing tours.[161]
The international airport serving Hamburg,Hamburg Airport Helmut Schmidt (IATA: HAM,ICAO: EDDH), is the fifth biggest and oldest airport in Germany, having been established in 1912 and located about 5 miles (8 kilometres) from the city centre. About 60 airlines provide service to 125 destination airports, including some long-distance destinations likeNewark, New Jersey onUnited Airlines,Dubai onEmirates, andTehran onIran Air. Hamburg is a secondary hub forLufthansa, which is the largest carrier at the airport, and the airline also operates one of its biggestLufthansa Technik maintenance facilities there. The second airport is located inHamburg-Finkenwerder, officially namedHamburg Finkenwerder Airport (IATA: XFW,ICAO: EDHI). It is about 10 km (6 mi) from the city centre and is a nonpublic airport for theAirbus plant. It is the second biggest Airbus plant, afterToulouse, and the third biggest aviation manufacturing plant afterSeattle and Toulouse; the plant houses the final assembly lines forA318, A319, A320, A321, andA380 aircraft.[162]
Public transportation statistics
The average amount of time people spend commuting with public transit in Hamburg, for example to and from work, on a weekday is 58 min. 16% of public transit riders, ride for more than two hours every day. The average amount of time people wait at a stop or station for public transit is 11 min, while 11% of riders wait for over 20 minutes on average every day. The average distance people usually ride in a single trip with public transit is 8.9 km, while 21% travel for over 12 km in a single direction.[163]
Electricity for Hamburg and Northern Germany is largely provided byVattenfall Europe, formerly the state-ownedHamburgische Electricitäts-Werke. Vattenfall Europe used to operate theBrunsbüttel Nuclear Power Plant andKrümmel Nuclear Power Plant, both taken out of service as part of thenuclear power phase-out. In addition,E.ON operates theBrokdorf Nuclear Power Plant, near Hamburg.There are also the coal-firedWedel,Tiefstack, and MoorburgCHP Plant, and the fuel-cell power plant in the HafenCity quarter.VERA Klärschlammverbrennung uses thebiosolids of the Hamburg wastewater treatment plant; thePumpspeicherwerk Geesthacht is a pump storage power plant and a solid waste combustion power station isMüllverwertung Borsigstraße.[164]
In June 2019, Hamburg introduced a law governing the phasing out of coal based thermal and electric energy production ("Kohleausstiegsgesetz").[165] This move was the result of negotiations between parliamentary parties and representatives of a campaign calledTschuess Kohle] ("Goodbye Coal"). In 2020, the city's Ministry for Environment and Energy announced a partnership withNamibia as a potential supplier of woody biomass, sourced through landscape maintenance in areas affected bywoody plant encroachment, to replace coal.[166]
Hamburg City Man 2007 at the BinnenalsterBarclays ArenaVolksparkstadion
Hamburger SV is afootball team playing in the2. Bundesliga. HSV was six times German champion, three times winner of the German Cup, and triumphed in the European Cup in 1983, as well as having participated in the group stages of theChampions League twice: in 2000–01 and 2006–07. They play at theVolksparkstadion (average attendance in the12–13 season was 52,916). The HSV was the oldest team of the Bundesliga, playing in the league since its beginning in 1963, until a change of results saw them relegated from theBundesliga in 2018. In addition,FC St. Pauli is aBundesliga football club that came in second place in the2009–10 2. Bundesliga season and qualified to play alongsideHamburger SV in thefirst division for the first time since the2001–02 season. They are currently a division above HSV for the first time ever following promotion to theBundesliga in the2023-24 season. St. Pauli's home games take place at theMillerntor-Stadion.
HSV Handball represented Hamburg until 2016 in the Germanhandball league. In 2007, HSV Handball won the European Cupwinners Cup. The Club won the league in the 2010–11 season and had an average attendance of 10.690 in theO2 World Hamburg the same year. The most recent success for the team was theEHF Champions League win in 2013. Since 2014, the club has suffered from economic problems and was almost not allowed the playing licence for the 2014–15 season; but due to economic support from the former club president/sponsor Andreas Rudolf, the club was allowed the licence in the last minute. On 20 January 2016, however, their licence was removed due to violations following the continued economic struggles. In 2016–17, they were not allowed to play in the first or second league. The team lives on through their former second team (now their main team) in the third division (2016–2018) and in second division (since 2018).
TheBCJ Hamburg played in theBasketball Bundesliga from 1999 to 2001. Later, theHamburg Towers became the city's prime team. The Towers promoted to Germany's top division in 2019. In 2022, they already reached the playoffs. The Towers play their home games at theEdel-optics.de Arena inWilhelmsburg.
Hamburg is the nation'sfield hockey capital and dominates the men's as well as the women's Bundesliga. Hamburg hosts many top teams such as Uhlenhorster Hockey Club, Harvesterhuder Hockey Club, and Club An Der Alster.
TheHamburg Warriors are one of Germany's top lacrosse clubs.[167] The club has grown immensely in the last several years and includes at least one youth team, three men's, and two women's teams. The team participates in the Deutsch Lacrosse Verein. The Hamburg Warriors are part of the Harvestehuder Tennis- und Hockey-Club e.V (HTHC).[168]
Hamburg made a bid for the2024 Olympic Games, but 51.7 percent of those city residents participating in areferendum in November 2015 voted against continuing Hamburg's bid to host the games. Meanwhile, Hamburg's partner cityKiel voted in favour of hosting the event, with almost 66 percent of all participants supporting the bid. Opponents of the bid had argued that hosting the 33rd Olympic Games would cost the city too much in public funds.[179]
The main building of the University of HamburgThe University of Music and Theatre
The school system is managed by the Ministry of Schools and Vocational Training (Behörde für Schule und Berufsbildung). The system had approximately 191,148 students in 221 primary schools and 188 secondary schools in 2016.[180] There are 32 public libraries in Hamburg.[181]
In Hamburg it's hard to find a native Hamburger. A hurried and superficial search turns up only crayfish, people fromPinneberg, and those fromBergedorf. One accompanies the contented little kippers of a striving society; mackerels fromStade, sole fromFinkenwerder, herrings fromCuxhaven swim in expectant throngs through the streets of my city and lobsters patrol the stock exchange with open claws.... The first so-called unguarded glance always lands on the bottom of the sea and falls into twilight of the aquarium.Heinrich Heine must have had the same experience when he tried, with his cultivated scorn and gifted melancholy, to find the people of Hamburg.
^Krech, Eva Maria; Stock, Eberhard; Hirschfeld, Ursula; Anders, Lutz-Christian (2009),Deutsches Aussprachewörterbuch, Berlin, New York: Walter de Gruyter, p. 565,ISBN978-3-11-018202-6
^Clark, David S. (1987), "The Medieval Origins of Modern Legal Education: Between Church and State",The American Journal of Comparative Law,35 (4), American Society of Comparative Law:653–719,doi:10.2307/840129,JSTOR840129
^Watt, Douglas (2024),The Price of Scotland: Darien, Union and the Wealth of Nations, Luath Press Limited,Edinburgh, pp. 97 - 103 & 117 - 121,ISBN9781913025595
^Cf. 'Schreiben der Geheimen Staatspolizei – Staatspolizeileitstelle Hamburg – an den Oberfinanzpräsidenten, Vermögensverwaltungsstelle vom 1. Juni 1943', Staatsarchiv Hamburg, Bestand Oberfinanzpräsident, Arb. Sign. 31/1 A, here after:Vierhundert Jahre Juden in Hamburg: eine Ausstellung des Museums für Hamburgische Geschichte vom 8. November 1991 bis 29. März 1992, Ulrich Bauche (ed.), Hamburg: Dölling und Galitz, 1991, (Die Geschichte der Juden in Hamburg; vol. 1), p. 492,ISBN3-926174-31-5
^"Hamburg"(PDF).Shoah Resource Center, The International School for Holocaust Studies.
^Geologisches Landesamt Hamburg (Hamburg State Geological Department) (2007), "Statistisches Jahrbuch 2007/2008",Statistisches Jahrbuch Hamburg (in German), Hamburg: Statistisches Amt für Hamburg und Schleswig-Holstein,ISSN1614-8045
^Hamburger Melderegister(PDF) (in German), Statistical office Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein (Statistisches Amt für Hamburg und Schleswig-Holstein), 2016
^Hamburg Metropolitan Area fact sheet(PDF), Office of Statistics for Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein (Statistisches Amt für Hamburg und Schleswig-Holstein), retrieved25 July 2017
^Selectable data base:Source: Residents registration office,Regionalergebnisse(PDF) (in German), Statistical office Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein, retrieved25 July 2016
^Several places are named ...brook (Billbrook, Brooktor, Grasbrook, Hammerbrook, Hellbrook, Iserbrook) rather than Standard German ...bruch (neutr.; =brook riverscape), Bullenhusen rather than Bullenhausen, Lohbrügge rather than Lohbrücke, several localities starting with Nien... (Niendorf, Nienstedten) rather than Neuen..., or ending ...hude (Dockenhuden, Harvestehude, Winterhude) rather than ...hut[ung] (fem.; =pasture), Uhlenhorst rather than Eulenhorst, several places and water bodies are named ...bek (Barmbek, Eilbek, Fischbek, Flottbek, Goldbek, Isebek, Kirchsteinbek, Langenbek, Osterbek, Pepermölenbek, Wandsbek) rather than ...bach, several places and water bodies are called ...fleet (Alsterfleet, Bleichenfleet, Moorfleet) rather than ...fließ (=brook, stream). Further toponyms with no close Standard German correspondents appear, such as ...büttel (=inhabited place; Eimsbüttel, Fuhlsbüttel, Hummelsbüttel, Poppenbüttel, Wellingsbüttel) or Twiete (=alley wedged between buildings). Like in other parts of Northern Germany ...stedt (Bergstedt, Billstedt, Duvenstedt, Eidelstedt, Lokstedt, Mellingstedt, Nienstedten, Ohlstedt, Rahlstedt) prevails over ...stadt (=town, originally simply stead).
^Institut für Kultur- und Medienmanagement (August 2006),Kulturwirtschaftsbericht 2006(PDF) (in German), Hamburg: Behörde für Kultur, Sport und Medien, archived fromthe original(PDF) on 9 November 2008, retrieved13 August 2008
^Behling, Heidburg; Garbe, Detlef (January 2009), "Die Orte bleibe",Mittelungen des Freundeskreises KZ-Gedenkstätte Neuengamme (in German), no. 11, p. 3
^"Hamburg wird heimlicher Heimathafen derQueen Mary 2" (in English: Hamburg nearly a home port forQueen Mary 2). In:Hamburger Abendblatt from 15 January 2010, p. 13
^other prefixes used between 1945 and 1956 were "MGH" (Military Government, Hamburg: 1945 only), "HG" (1947 only) and "BH" (British Zone, Hamburg) between 1948 and 1956.
^"Partnerstädte".hamburg.de (in German). Hamburg. Retrieved12 February 2021.
^Jenkins, Jennifer (2003),Provincial modernity: local culture and liberal politics in fin-de-siècle Hamburg, Cornell University Press,ISBN0-8014-4025-4
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