Page 6 - GC-July-August-24

6 • The German Citizen • July - August 2024
Handy Guide to Hamburg History

Photo by German Wikipedian IqRS
by Martin Ederer
amburg ranks as Ger‐ the Copernican revision of things) Christianization when it the 20 th century, the Hamburg-
many’s second-largest referred to the region as Treva, but dispatched St. Ansgar America Line – which had become
Hcity after Berlin. It is lo‐ this was obviously a zone where the (also important in Chris‐ the biggest shipping firm in the
cated well to the north and is near Romans were little more than occa‐ tianizing the Danes) to the world – called Hamburg its home
the south end of Jutland and the re‐ sional visitors. region in 834. As was port. After World War I, Hamburg
gions of Schleswig and Holstein, By the 400s the region had been typical of the Early Mid‐ could claim to be the first place in
which both spent portions of their settled by northern Saxon tribes, dle Ages, Christianity Germany to hold fully democratic
histories as part of Denmark. Ham‐ who eventually claimed it as their brought with it the trap‐ elections under the new Weimar
burg is the largest German city situ‐ territory. By 800, Carolingian pings of civilization: not constitution. During the Weimar
ated on the storied Elbe River, not rulers of Central Europe (some ac‐ only the Judaeo-Christian years, Hamburg consistently
far from where it empties into the counts credit Charlemagne himself) heritage, but also Graeco- recorded the highest polling num‐
North Sea, which has helped to played a significant role in estab‐ Roman cultural traditions,Hamburg in 1150. bers for the Social Democrats.
place Hamburg astride a compli‐ lishing a fortification on higher and literacy, art, monaster‐ the growth in power of territorial Hamburg maintained its status
cated watery world that predestined ground in 810 that came to be ies, schools and libraries. Ansgar princes could stem Hamburg’s as its own city-state under Nazism,
it to be a major port city. known as Hammaburg, whose name built Hammaburg’s first church growth for long. but not its autonomy. Hamburg did
There are disputed stories about (Saxon Ham = bog or bay) indi‐ dedicated to Mary on the site of In 1529, only eight years after gain territory as the areas around the
Roman explorations where Ham‐ cated its role in keeping an eye on what now is Hamburg’s St. Petri- the Diet of Worms, Hamburg’s lead‐ city were incorporated into the city
burg is now located. Claudius the marshy lands that surrounded it. kirche. In 845 the Vikings de‐ ership embraced the Protestant Ref‐ under a metropolitan form of gov‐
Ptolemy of Alexandria (who gave The Carolingians laid the stroyed Hamburg. Ansgar fled to ormation. During the Counter- ernment that remains to this day.
us the geocentric solar system until groundwork for Hammaburg’s Bremen, where he became its sec‐ Reformation, a good number of During World War II, Hamburg
ond bishop. As plans multiplied to Portuguese, Spaniards and suffered one of the most devastating
evangelize Scandinavia, Bremen Sephardic Jews made their homes bombing raids of the war, which re‐
and Cologne became the foci of ec‐ in Hamburg. Unlike most German sulted in intense firestorms. Once
clesiastical power. Hammaburg cities, Hamburg was spared the de‐ again fire was a big part of Ham‐
languished until it regained papal struction and degradation of the burg’s story. Only 20% of the hous‐
favor – for a while – over the bish‐ Thirty Years’ War. In fact, Ham‐ ing stock survived intact. Casualty
opric of Cologne. Hammaburg re‐ burg did quite nicely during the figures were recorded as 125,000
built in earnest. Then the Slavic conflict as trader and supplier, espe‐ wounded and some 40-50,000 dead.
Obodrites flattened the city in 915. cially for Dutch and Scandinavian As the Allies defeated Germany,
Hammaburg underwent compli‐ combatants. By this time, territorial Hamburg found itself in the British
cated ups and downs through the princes asserting their power occupation zone. To add to the
Middle Ages, but a few dynamics spelled the end of Hansa autonomy overall human misery of the Nazi
remained constant. The first was and prosperity. During the French years, a major concentration camp
regular gains and losses of ecclesi‐ Revolution period, Hamburg began (Neuengamme) was not far from
astical favor that had serious eco‐ to rationalize its administrative the city, and the port hosted a num‐
nomic and political consequences. structures. Still, Napoleon insisted ber of refugee and prison ships. The
The second was regular attacks. on briefly annexing the city to his Port of Hamburg had also served as
Besides the Vikings in 845 and the French Empire after he ended the a major point of deportation for un‐
Obodrites in 915, there were Holy Roman Empire. In 1815 the desirables.
Wendisch and Danish attacks in the Congress of Vienna restored Ham‐ After the war, Hamburg faced
later 900s. Slavic attacks followed, burg’s independent status within the the daunting tasks of not only re‐
most notably. In 1030, Mieszko II German Confederation. building, but also struggling with an
of Poland attacked Hammaburg. In In the 19 th century, Hamburg economy hobbled by the division of
1066 and 1072 the Obodrites at‐ suffered two notable crises. An‐ Germany into two states. A cata‐
tacked. Then Valdemar II of Den‐ other fire (lasting 4 days) destroyed strophic flood took 20% of the city
mark raided Hammaburg twice, in the city in 1842. In 1892, a poorly and 300 lives in 1962.
1201 and 1214. A major fire in managed cholera epidemic claimed Felix Mendelssohn and Jo‐
1284 also destroyed the city. the lives of many citizens. Much of hannes Brahms were born in Ham‐
The third dynamic was the rest of Hamburg’s history was burg, as was Johann Elert Bode,
Hammaburg’s growing importance also the history of the German unifi‐ who named the planet Uranus.
as a trading city that ultimately cation process in the 19 century – Chancellors Helmut Schmidt and
th
overshadowed the rest of its trou‐ but Hamburg always maintained its Angela Merkel were born in Ham‐
bles. Dynasties that loomed large in status as its own state and with its burg, as was the current chancellor,
Hammaburg’s early history – be‐ own administrative autonomy. By Olaf Scholz.
sides the Carolingians and Sax‐
ons—were the Billung and
Schauenburg dynasties. Most of all,
the Hohenstaufen Frederick Bar‐
barossa put Hammaburg on the map
when he granted it status in 1189 as
a free imperial city with port and
market privileges – in part as thanks
for Hammaburg’s support of his
Third Crusade. By this time, Holy
Roman Emperors found the estab‐
lishment of free imperial cities that
answered directly to them was a
convenient way to sidestep de‐
mands of the local nobility. Be‐
cause it also worked well for such
cities, they were more than happy to
accept the designation as a snub to
onerous restrictions typically
present under the local rulers.
In the 1200s, Hamburg formally
became a member of the Hansa
trading coalition in the north. To‐
gether with its partner states, Ham‐
burg played a major role ending
North Sea piracy. Prosperity fol‐
lowed; Hamburg gained more self-
governance after its city council
was recognized as the binding leg‐
islative body in the free city. At this
point, neither the Black Death nor