The military organization of Hamburg was arranged by convention with Prussia. The state furnishes three battalions of the 2nd Hanseatic regiment, under Prussian officers. The soldiers swear the oath of allegiance to the senate.
HAMBURG, a seaport of Germany, capital of the free state of Hamburg, on the right bank of the northern arm of the Elbe, 75 m. from its mouth at Cuxhaven and 178 m. N.W. from Berlin by rail. It is the largest and most important seaport on the continent of Europe and (after London and New York) the third largest in the world. Were it not for political and municipal boundaries Hamburg might be considered as forming with Altona and Ottensen (which lie within Prussian territory) one town. The view of the three from the south, presenting a continuous river frontage of six miles, the river crowded with shipping and the densely packed houses surmounted by church towers—of which three are higher than the dome of St Paul’s in London—is one of great magnificence.
The city proper lies on both sides of the little river Alster, which, dammed up a short distance from its mouth, forms a lake, of which the southern portion within the line of the former fortifications bears the name of the Inner Alster (Binnen Alster), and the other and larger portion (2500 yards long and 1300 yards at the widest) that of the Outer Alster (Aussen Alster). The fortifications as such were removed in 1815, but they have left their trace in a fine girdle of green round the city, though too many inroads on its completeness have been made by railways and roadways. The oldest portion of the city is that which lies to the east of the Alster; but, though it still retains the name of Altstadt, nearly all trace of its antiquity has disappeared, as it was rebuilt after the great fire of 1842. To the west lies the new town (Neustadt), incorporated in 1678; beyond this and contiguous to Altona is the former suburb of St Pauli, incorporated in 1876, and towards the north-east that of St Georg, which arose in the 13th century but was not incorporated till 1868.
The old town lies low, and it is traversed by a great number of narrow canals or “fleets” (Fleeten)—for the same word which has left its trace in London nomenclature is used in the Low German city—which add considerably to the picturesqueness of the meaner quarters, and serve as convenient channels for the transport of goods. They generally form what may be called the back streets, and they are bordered by warehouses, cellars and the lower class of dwelling-houses. As they are subject to the ebb and flow of the Elbe, at certain times they run almost dry. As soon as the telegram at Cuxhaven announces high tide three shots are fired from the harbour to warn the inhabitants of the “fleets”; and if the progress of the tide up the river gives indication of danger, another three shots follow. The “fleets” with their quaint medieval warehouses, which come sheer down to the water, and are navigated by barges, have gained for Hamburg the name of “Northern Venice.” They are, however, though antique and interesting, somewhat dismal and unsavoury. In fine contrast to them is the bright appearance of the Binnen Alster, which is enclosed on three sides by handsome rows of buildings, the Alsterdamm in the east, the Alter Jungfernstieg in the south, and the Neuer Jungfernstieg in the west, while it is separated from the Aussen Alster by part of the rampart gardens traversed by the railway uniting Hamburg with Altona and crossing the lakes by a beautiful bridge—the Lombards-Brücke. Around the outer lake are grouped the suburbs Harvestehude and Pösseldorf on the western shore, and Uhlenhorst on the eastern, with park-like promenades and villas surrounded by well-kept gardens. Along the southern end of the Binnen Alster runs the Jungfernstieg with fine shops, hotels and restaurants facing the water. A fleet of shallow-draught screw steamers provides a favourite means of communication between the business centre of the city and the outlying colonies of villas.
The streets enclosing the Binnen Alster are fashionable promenades, and leading directly from this quarter are the main business thoroughfares, the Neuer-Wall, the Grosse Bleichen and the Hermannstrasse. The largest of the public squares in Hamburg is the Hopfenmarkt, which contains the church of St Nicholas (Nikolaikirche) and is the principal market for vegetables and fruit. Others of importance are the Gänsemarkt, the Zeughausmarkt and the Grossneumarkt. Of the thirty-five churches existing in Hamburg (the old cathedral had to be taken down in 1805), the St Petrikirche, Nikolaikirche, St Katharinenkirche, St Jakobikirche and St Michaeliskirche are those that give their names to the five old city parishes. The Nikolaikirche is especially remarkable for its spire, which is 473 ft. high and ranks, after those of Ulm and Cologne, as the third highest ecclesiastical edifice in the world. The old church was destroyed in the great fire of 1842, and the new building, designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 13th century Gothic, was erected 1845-1874. The exterior and interior are elaborately adorned with sculptures. Sandstone from Osterwald near Hildesheim was used for the outside, and for the inner work a softer variety from Postelwitz near Dresden. The Michaeliskirche, which is built on the highest point in the city and has a tower 428 ft. high, was erected (1750-1762) by Ernst G. Sonnin on the site of the older building of the 17th century destroyed by lightning; the interior, which can contain 3000 people, is remarkable for its bold construction, there being no pillars. The St Petrikirche, originally consecrated in the 12th century and rebuilt in the 14th, was the oldest church in Hamburg; it was burnt in 1842 and rebuilt in its old form in 1844-1849. It has a graceful tapering spire 402 ft. in height (completed 1878); the granite columns from the old cathedral, the stained glass windows by Kellner of Nuremberg, and H. Schubert’s fine relief of the entombment of Christ are worthy of notice. The St Katharinenkirche and the St Jakobikirche are the only surviving medieval churches, but neither is of special interest. Of the numerous other churches, Evangelical, Roman Catholic and Anglican, none are of special interest. The new synagogue was built by Rosengarten between 1857 and 1859, and to the same architect is due the sepulchral chapel built for the Hamburg merchant prince Johann Heinrich, Freiherr von Schröder (1784-1883), in the churchyard of the Petrikirche. The beautiful chapel of St Gertrude was unfortunately destroyed in 1842.
Hamburg has comparatively few secular buildings of great architectural interest, but first among them is the new Rathaus, a huge German Renaissance building, constructed of sandstone in 1886-1897, richly adorned with sculptures and with a spire 330 ft. in height. It is the place of meeting of the municipal council and of the senate and contains the city archives. Immediately adjoining it and connected with it by two wings is the exchange. It was erected in 1836-1841 on the site of the convent of St Mary Magdalen and escaped the conflagration of 1842. It was restored and enlarged in 1904, and shelters the commercial library of nearly 100,000 vols. During the business hours (1-3 P.M.) the exchange is crowded by some 5000 merchants and brokers. In the same neighbourhood is the Johanneum, erected in 1834 and in which are preserved the town library of about 600,000 printed books and 5000 MSS. and the collection of Hamburg antiquities. In the courtyard is a statue (1885) of the reformer Johann Bugenhagen. In the Fischmarkt, immediately south of the Johanneum, a handsome fountain was erected in 1890. Directly west of the town hall is the new Stadthaus, the chief police station of the town, in front of which is a bronze statue of the burgomaster Karl Friedrich Petersen (1809-1892), erected in 1897. A little farther away are the headquarters of the Patriotic Society (Patriotische Gesellschaft), founded in 1765, with fine rooms for the meetings of artistic and learned societies. Several new public buildings have been erected along the circuit of the former walls. Near the west extremity, abutting upon the Elbe, the moat was filled in in 1894-1897, and some good streets were built along the site, while the Kersten Miles-Brücke, adorned with statues of four Hamburg heroes, was thrown across the Helgoländer Allee. Farther north, along the line of the former town wall, are the criminal law courts (1879-1882, enlarged 1893) and the civil law courts (finished in 1901). Close to the latter stand the new supreme court, the old age and accident state insurance offices, the chief custom house, and the concert hall, founded by Karl Laeisz, a former Hamburg wharfinger. Farther on are the chemical and the physical laboratories and the Hygienic Institute. Facing the botanical gardens a new central post-office, in the Renaissance style, was built in 1887. At the west end of the Lombards-Brücke there is a monument by Schilling, commemorating the war of 1870-71. A few streets south of that is a monument to Lessing (1881); while occupying a commanding site on the promenades towards Altona is the gigantic statue of Bismarck which was unveiled in June 1906. The Kunst-Halle (the picture gallery), containing some good works by modern masters, faces the east end of Lombards-Brücke. The new Natural History Museum, completed in 1891, stands a little distance farther south. To the east of it comes the Museum for Art and Industry, founded in 1878, now one of the most important institutions of the kind in Germany, with which is connected a trades school. Close by is the Hansa-fountain (65 ft. high), erected in 1878. On the north-east side of the suburb of St Georg a botanical museum and laboratory have been established. There is a new general hospital at Eppendorf, outside the town on the north, built on the pavilion principle, and one of the finest structures of the kind in Europe; and at Ohlsdorf, in the same direction, a crematorium was built in 1891 in conjunction with the town cemeteries (370 acres). There must also be mentioned the fine public zoological gardens, Hagenbeck’s private zoological gardens in the vicinity, the schools of music and navigation, and the school of commerce. In 1900 a high school for shipbuilding was founded, and in 1901 an institute for seamen’s and tropical diseases, with a laboratory for their physiological study, was opened, and also the first public free library in the city. The river is spanned just above the Frei Hafen by a triple-arched railway bridge, 1339 ft. long, erected in 1868-1873 and doubled in width in 1894. Some 270 yds. higher up is a magnificent iron bridge (1888) for vehicles and foot passengers. The southern arm of the Elbe, on the south side of the island of Wilhelmsburg, is crossed by another railway bridge of four arches and 2050 ft. in length.
Railways.—The through railway traffic of Hamburg is practically confined to that proceeding northwards—to Kiel and Jutland—and for the accommodation of such trains the central (terminus) station at Altona is the chief gathering point. The Hamburg stations, connected with the other by the Verbindungs-Bahn (or metropolitan railway) crossing the Lombards-Brücke, are those of the Venloer (or Hanoverian, as it is often called) Bahnhof on the south-east, in close proximity to the harbour, into which converge the lines from Cologne and Bremen, Hanover and Frankfort-on-Main, and from Berlin, via Nelzen; the Klostertor-Bahnhof (on the metropolitan line) which temporarily superseded the old Berlin station, and the Lübeck station a little to the north-east, during the erection of the new central station, which occupies a site between the Klostertor-Bahnhof and the Lombards-Brücke. Between this central station and Altona terminus runs the metropolitan railway, which has been raised several feet so as to bridge over the streets, and on which lie the important stations Dammtor and Sternschanze. An excellent service of electric trams interconnect the towns of Hamburg, Altona and the adjacent suburbs, and steamboats provide communication on the Elbe with the riparian towns and villages; and so with Blankenese and Harburg, with Stade, Glückstadt and Cuxhaven.
Trade and Shipping.—Probably there is no place which during the last thirty years of the 19th century grew faster commercially than Hamburg. Its commerce is, however, almost entirely of the nature of transit trade, for it is not only the chief distributing centre for the middle of Europe of the products of all other parts of the world, but is also the chief outlet for German, Austrian, and even to some extent Russian (Polish) raw products and manufactures. Its principal imports are coffee (of which it is the greatest continental market), tea, sugar, spices, rice, wine (especially from Bordeaux), lard (from Chicago), cereals, sago, dried fruits, herrings, wax (from Morocco and Mozambique), tobacco, hemp, cotton (which of late years shows a large increase), wool, skins, leather, oils, dyewoods, indigo, nitrates, phosphates and coal. Of the total importations of all kinds of coal to Hamburg, that of British coal, particularly from Northumberland and Durham, occupies the first place, and despite some falling off in late years, owing to the competition made by Westphalian coal, amounts to more than half the total import. The increase of the trade of Hamburg is most strikingly shown by that of the shipping belonging to the port. Between 1876 and 1880 there were 475 sailing vessels with a tonnage of 230,691, and 110 steam-ships with a tonnage of 87,050. In 1907 there were (exclusive of fishing vessels) 470 sailing ships with a tonnage of 271,661, and 610 steamers with a tonnage of 1,256,449. In 1870 the crews numbered 6900 men, in 1907 they numbered 29,536.