Hamburg

:This article is about the city in Germany. For other articles named Hamburg, see Hamburg (disambiguation).

History

The city takes its name from the first permanent building on the site, a fort that Charlemagne ordered built as a defence against Slavic incursion. The fort went up in 808 on some rocky ground in a marsh between the Alster and the Elbe. It was named Hamma Burg, where the "burg" means "fort."

Related Topics:
Charlemagne - Alster - Elbe

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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 German was spoken there later. Other theories are that the fort was named for a surrounding Hamma forest, or for the village of Hamm, later incorporated into the city. 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.

Related Topics:
Old High German - Chamavi

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hamburg was designated the seat of a bishopric (834), whose first bishop, Ansgar, became known as the Apostle of the North. In 845 a fleet said to number 600 Viking ships came up the River Elbe and destroyed Hamburg, at that time a place of around 500 inhabitants.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Two years after that Hamburg was united with Bremen as the bishopric of Hamburg-Bremen. In 1030 the city was burned down by King Mieszko II of Poland. The see was finally moved to Bremen after further raids in 1066 and 1072, this time by Slavs from the east.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Frederick I "Barbarossa" is said to have granted free access up the Lower Elbe to Hamburg in a charter of 1189. Hamburg's proximity to the main trade routes of the North and Baltic Seas quickly made it a major port of Northern Europe, and its alliance (1241) with Lübeck on the Baltic is considered the origin of the powerful Hanseatic League of trading cities. However, Frederick's document, still at display at the town museum, is known to be a fake from around 1265. Therefore Hamburg does not hold city rights.

Related Topics:
Frederick I "Barbarossa" - Elbe - 1189 - 1241 - Lübeck

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the 1520s the city authorities embraced Lutheranism, and Hamburg subsequently received Protestant refugees from the Netherlands and France. At times under Danish sovereignty while a part of the Holy Roman Empire, in 1768 it gained full Danish recognition as an Imperial Free City.

Related Topics:
1520s - Lutheranism - Netherlands - France - Danish - Holy Roman Empire - 1768 - Imperial Free City

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Annexed briefly by France (1810 -14), Hamburg suffered severely during Napoleon I's last campaign in Germany, but 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.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hamburg was destroyed by fire several times, notably in 1284 and 1842. The last and worst destruction took place in World War II, when the city suffered a series of devastating air raids, Operation Gomorrah (24 July-2 August 1943). Today's inner city therefore hosts almost no buildings from before 1842 and even few from before 1945. In February 1962 the city's low-lying areas were affected by severe flooding, in which more than 300 people died and thousands became homeless.

Related Topics:
World War II - Operation Gomorrah - 24 July - 2 August - 1943

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The city boundaries were extended in 1937 with the Groß-Hamburg-Gesetz (Greater Hamburg Act) to incorporate neighbouring Wandsbek, Harburg-Wilhelmsburg and Altona.

Related Topics:
1937 - Harburg - Altona

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

During World War II and in response to Germany levelling Coventry two days before, the Royal Air Force began to bomb Hamburg on November 16, 1940. Later, in Operation Gomorrah the British bombed Hamburg on July 28, 1943 which caused a firestorm that killed 42,000 German civilians. By the end of the war at least 50,000 Hamburg residents had died in Allied attacks.

Related Topics:
World War II - Coventry - Royal Air Force - November 16 - 1940 - Operation Gomorrah - British - July 28 - 1943 - Firestorm - Allied

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The population of the city proper peaked in the mid-1960s at 1.85 million, but has recovered from a mid-1980s low of under 1.6m. Growth is now concentrated in the suburban areas. The Hamburg Harbour remains the prize asset of the city and is one of the largest deep-sea ports for container shipping in the world.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~