Editing Hamburg (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of Hamburg}}

{{For timeline}}

===Origins===
[[Claudius Ptolemy]] (2nd century AD) reported the first name for the vicinity as [[Treva]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/mapping-ancient-germania-berlin-researchers-crack-the-ptolemy-code-a-720513-2.html|title=Mapping Ancient Germania: Berlin Researchers Crack the Ptolemy Code|first=Matthias|last=Schulz|newspaper=Der Spiegel|date=1 October 2010|via=Spiegel Online}}</ref>

===Etymology===
The name ''Hamburg'' comes from the first permanent building on the site, a castle which the Emperor [[Charlemagne]] ordered constructed in AD 808. It rose on rocky terrain in a marsh between the [[Alster|River Alster]] and the [[Elbe|River Elbe]] as a defence against [[Slavic peoples|Slavic]] incursion, and acquired the name ''Hammaburg'', ''burg'' meaning castle or fort. The origin of the ''Hamma'' term remains uncertain,<ref>{{Citation|ref=Verg |last1=Verg |first1=Erich |last2=Verg|first2=Martin|year=2007 |title=Das Abenteuer das Hamburg heißt |edition=4th |location=Hamburg |publisher=Ellert&Richter |isbn=978-3-8319-0137-1 |page=8|language=de}}
</ref> but its location is estimated to be at the site of today's [[St. Mary's Cathedral, Hamburg|Hammaburgplatz]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gretzschel|first=Sven Kummereincke und Matthias|date=24 January 2014|title=Sensation: Wissenschaftler entdecken die Hammaburg|url=https://www.abendblatt.de/hamburg/article124212644/Sensation-Wissenschaftler-entdecken-die-Hammaburg.html|access-date=20 December 2020|website=www.abendblatt.de|language=de-DE}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Hammaburg – der große Irrtum |url=http://www.abendblatt.de/daten/2007/12/12/826430.html |date=12 December 2007 |publisher=Hamburger Abendblatt |access-date=30 September 2008|language=de}}</ref>

===Medieval Hamburg===
[[File:Hamburg in 1150.jpg|thumb|left|Hamburg in 1150]]
In 834 CE, Hamburg was designated as the seat of a [[Prince-Bishop|bishopric]]. The first bishop, [[Ansgar]], became known as the Apostle of the North. Two years later, Hamburg was united with [[Archdiocese of Bremen|Bremen]] as the [[List of administrators, archbishops, bishops, and prince-archbishops of Bremen|Bishopric of Hamburg-Bremen]].<ref name=verg15>[[#Verg|Verg (2007)]], p.15</ref>

Hamburg was destroyed and occupied several times. In 845, 600 [[Viking]] ships sailed up the [[Elbe|River Elbe]] and destroyed Hamburg, at that time a town of around 500 inhabitants.<ref name="verg15"/> In 1030, King [[Mieszko II Lambert]] of [[Kingdom of Poland (1025–1385)|Poland]] burned down the city. [[Valdemar II of Denmark]] raided and occupied Hamburg in 1201 and in 1214. The [[Black Death]] killed at least 60% of the population in 1350.
Hamburg experienced several great fires in the medieval period.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://en.wtcf.org.cn/MemberCities/Overview/Introduction/201407308185.html|title=Hamburg – Introduction – WTCF-Better City Life through Tourism|website=en.wtcf.org.cn|access-date=9 March 2020}}</ref>

In 1189, by imperial charter, [[Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick I "Barbarossa"]] granted Hamburg the status of a [[Free Imperial City]] and tax-free access (or [[free-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.<ref name=verg26>[[#Verg|Verg (2007)]], p. 26</ref> This charter, along with Hamburg's proximity to the main trade routes of the [[North Sea]] and [[Baltic Sea]], quickly made it a major port in Northern Europe. Its trade alliance with [[Lübeck]] in 1241 marks the origin and core of the powerful Hanseatic League of trading cities. On 8 November 1266, a contract between [[Henry III of England|Henry III]] and Hamburg's traders allowed them to establish a ''hanse'' in London. This was the first time in history that the word ''hanse'' was used for the trading guild of the [[Hanseatic League]].<ref name=verg30>[[#Verg|Verg (2007)]], p. 30
</ref>
In 1270, the solicitor of the [[senate of Hamburg]], ''Jordan von [[Boitzenburger Land|Boitzenburg]]'', wrote the first description of civil, criminal and procedural law for a city in Germany in the German language, the ''Ordeelbook'' (''Ordeel'': sentence).<ref>
{{Citation |title=The Medieval Origins of Modern Legal Education: Between Church and State |first=David S. |last=Clark |journal=The American Journal of Comparative Law |volume=35 |year=1987 |pages=653–719 |publisher=American Society of Comparative Law |doi=10.2307/840129 |issue=4 |jstor=840129|doi-access=free }}
</ref> On 10 August 1410, civil unrest forced a compromise (German: ''Rezeß'', literally meaning: withdrawal). This is considered the first [[constitution of Hamburg]].<ref>[[#Verg|Verg (2007)]], p. 39</ref>

In 1356, the ''Matthiae-Mahl'' feast dinner for [[Hanseatic 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.<ref name="mattmahl">{{cite news |title=The Matthiae meal |url=https://www.euscreen.eu/item.html?id=EUS_0065DB52E4BF42279013651EE15AE220 |agency=EU Screen |publisher=Deutsche Welle |date=2003 |access-date=12 February 2023 |archive-date=12 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230212180228/https://www.euscreen.eu/item.html?id=EUS_0065DB52E4BF42279013651EE15AE220 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Early modern period===
[[File:Hamburg um 1600 Brook.jpg|thumb|Hamburg, {{circa|1600}}]]
In 1529, the city embraced [[Lutheranism]], and it received [[Continental Reformed church|Reformed]] refugees from the [[Netherlands]] and France.

When [[Jan van Valckenborgh]] introduced a second layer to the fortifications to protect against the [[Thirty 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.<ref>[http://www.carltoepferstiftung.de/img/pdf/tourist_information_inner_pages.pdf History of the area] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130206104950/http://www.carltoepferstiftung.de/img/pdf/tourist_information_inner_pages.pdf |date=6 February 2013 }}, accessed 3 November 2012</ref>

From the autumn of 1696 to the spring of 1697 the [[Company of Scotland Trading to Africa and the Indies|Company 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.  The ''Caledonia'', a ship of 600 tons with 56 guns, and the ''Instuaration'' (later renamed the ''St. Andrew''), a vessel of 350 tons, were launched in March 1697.<ref>Watt, Douglas (2024), ''The Price of Scotland: Darien, Union and the Wealth of Nations'', Luath Press Limited, [[Edinburgh]], pp. 97 - 103 & 117 - 121, {{isbn|9781913025595}}</ref>

Upon the dissolution of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] in 1806, the [[Free imperial city|Free Imperial City]] of Hamburg was not incorporated into a larger administrative area while retaining special privileges ([[German mediatisation|mediatised]]), but became a [[sovereignty|sovereign]] state with the official title of the ''Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg''. Hamburg was briefly annexed by [[Napoleon I]] to the [[First French Empire]] (1804–1814/1815). Russian forces under [[Levin August, Count von Bennigsen|General Bennigsen]] finally freed the city in 1814. Hamburg re-assumed its pre-1811 status as a city-state in 1814. The [[Congress of Vienna|Vienna Congress]] of 1815 confirmed Hamburg's independence and it became one of 39 sovereign states of the [[German Confederation]] (1815–1866).

In 1842, about a quarter of the inner city was destroyed in the "[[Great Fire of Hamburg|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.
[[File:JMDavid Hamburg vom westlichen Wall 1811.jpg|thumb|Hamburg in 1811]]

After periodic political unrest, particularly in [[Revolutions of 1848|1848]], 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 the [[North German Confederation]] (1866–1871) and of the [[German Empire]] (1871–1918), and maintained its self-ruling status during the [[Weimar Republic]] (1919–1933). [[Accession of Hamburg to the German Customs Union (Zollverein)|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's [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] trade helped make it Europe's second-largest port.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://aapa.files.cms-plus.com/PDFs/WORLD%20PORT%20RANKINGS%202011.pdf|website=aapa-ports.org|department=American Association of Port Authorities
|title=World Port Ranking 2011}}</ref> The [[Hamburg America Line|Hamburg-America Line]], with [[Albert Ballin]] as its director, became the world's largest [[Atlantic Ocean|transatlantic]] 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 major [[1881–1896 cholera pandemic#1892 outbreak in Hamburg|outbreak 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.

===Second World War===
[[File:Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945. CL3400.jpg|thumb|Hamburg [[Eilbek]] after the [[Bombing of Hamburg in World War II|1943 bombing]]; today around 25% of Hamburg's buildings are from before the Second World War<ref>{{cite web |url=https://zensus2011.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/Publikationen/Aufsaetze_Archiv/2015_12_NI_GWZ_endgueltig.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=4 |title=Zensus 2011: Gebäude- und Wohnungsbestand in Deutschland |language=de |publisher=Statistische Ämter Des Bundes Und Der Länder |date=2015 |access-date=15 January 2025}}</ref>]]

Hamburg was a {{lang|de|[[Gau (territory)|Gau]]}} within the [[administrative division of Nazi Germany]] from 1934 until 1945. During the [[Second World War]], the [[bombing of Hamburg in World War II|Allied bombing of Hamburg]] devastated much of the city and the harbour. On 23 July 1943, the [[Royal Air Force]] (RAF) and [[United States Army Air Force]] firebombing created a [[firestorm]] which spread from the {{lang|de|Hauptbahnhof}} (main railway station) and quickly moved south-east, completely destroying entire boroughs such as [[Hammerbrook]], [[Billbrook]] and [[Hamm, Hamburg|Hamm South]]. Thousands of people perished in these densely populated working class boroughs. The raids, codenamed [[Operation Gomorrah]] by the RAF, killed at least 42,600 civilians; the precise number is not known.{{cn |date=December 2024}} 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.

The [[Hamburg Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery]] is in the greater [[Ohlsdorf Cemetery]] in the north of Hamburg.

At least 42,900 people are thought to have perished<ref name="kz-neuengamme">{{cite web|url=http://www.kz-gedenkstaette-neuengamme.de |title=Gedenkstätte Konzentrationslager Neuengamme |publisher=Kz-gedenkstaette-neuengamme.de |access-date=14 September 2013}}</ref> in the [[Neuengamme concentration camp]] (about {{convert|25|km|0|abbr=on|disp=comma}} outside the city in the marshlands), mostly from epidemics and in the [[SS Cap Arcona (1927)|destruction of Kriegsmarine vessels]] housing evacuees at the end of the war.

Systematic [[Deportation#Deportation during World War II|deportations of Jewish Germans and Gentile Germans of Jewish descent]] started on 18 October 1941. These were all directed to [[ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe]] or to [[Nazi concentration camps|concentration camps]]. Most deported persons perished in [[the Holocaust]]. By the end of 1942, the ''Jüdischer Religionsverband in Hamburg'' was dissolved as an independent legal entity and its remaining assets and staff were assumed by the [[Reich Association of Jews in Germany]] (District Northwest). On 10 June 1943, the [[Reich Security Main Office]] dissolved the association by a decree.<ref>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, {{ISBN|3-926174-31-5}}</ref> The few remaining employees not somewhat protected by a [[Anti-miscegenation laws#Nazi Germany|mixed marriage]] were deported from Hamburg on 23 June to [[Theresienstadt]], where most of them perished. About 7800 Hamburg Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, of the nearly 17 thousand who had lived in the city before [[Adolf Hitler's rise to power|Hitler's rise to power]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hamburg |url=https://www.yadvashem.org/odot_pdf/Microsoft%20Word%20-%206350.pdf |website=Shoah Resource Center, The International School for Holocaust Studies}}</ref>

===Post-war history===
[[File:Phb dt 8107 CTA.jpg|thumb|Container Terminal at the Port of Hamburg]]
The city was surrendered to [[British Armed Forces|British Forces]] on 3 May 1945, in the [[Capture of Hamburg|Battle of Hamburg]],<ref>Ortwin Pelc, Kriegsende in Hamburg, Hamburg 2005</ref> three days after [[Adolf Hitler]]'s death. After the [[Second World War]], Hamburg formed part of the [[Allied-occupied Germany|British Zone of Occupation]]; it became a state of [[West Germany]] in 1949.

On 16 February 1962, a [[North Sea flood of 1962|North Sea flood]] caused the Elbe to rise to an all-time high, inundating one-fifth of Hamburg and killing more than 300 people.

The [[inner German border]] – only {{convert|50|km|mi|-1}} east of Hamburg – separated the city from most of its hinterland and reduced Hamburg's global trade. Since [[German reunification]] in 1990, and the accession of several Central European and [[Baltic region|Baltic]] countries into the [[European Union]] in 2004, the [[Port 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.