Hamburg Facts
- Germany's second largest city
- Europe's second largest commercial harbor
- 2,496 bridges, more than any other city in the world (Venice: 440, Amsterdam: 1,612)
- Consulates from 101 countries - the world’s 3rd place after Hong Kong and New York City
- Home to more millionaires than any other German city
- Hamburg's City Hall has more chambers (647) than Buckingham Palace(600)
Hamburg History
- 600 - 700 AD: Late Saxon settlements are erected in what is now Hamburg's Altstadt
- 800 - 900: Hammaburg Castle is built in early 9th century, which gave the city its name
- 1050: Hamburg's oldest church, the Church of St. Peter, is built
- 1189: Emperor Barbarossa gives Hamburg Royal Charter, guaranteeing free river and sea trade
- 1321: Hamburg becomes member of the “Hanseatic League”
- 1356: Hamburg celebrates the first “Matthiae-Mahl”, which today is the oldest banquet of the world that is still celebrated
- 1558: The Hamburg Stock Exchange, Germany’s first, is established. It is Europe’s second oldest, after Brugge (1409) and before Amsterdam (1563)
- 1618: Hamburg becomes a 'Free City of the Empire'
- 1735: “Commerzbibliothek” is established, the world's oldest commercial library
- 1750-1762: The St. Michaelis church, Hamburg’s symbol, is built
- 1790: The United States of America establishes a Consulate in Hamburg
- 1806-1813: Hamburg is occupied by Napoleon Bonaparte’s army
- 1842: The “Great Fire” destroys 1/3 of the City
- 1847: The steamship company HAPAG is founded: Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Actien-Gesellschaft
- 1866: A street is named “Lincolnstrasse” with tribute to the murder of Abraham Lincoln
- 1881-1888: The “Speicherstadt” (the world's largest warehouse district), which still exists, is built
- 1886 - 1897: Hamburg's City Hall is built
- 1888: Emperor William II opens Hamburg’s free port zone under Hamburg’s Customs Administration. Hamburg is integrated into the customs union of the German Empire
- 1900: HAPAG's "Deutschland", the world's fastest ship, starts scheduled passenger service to New York at 23.1/2 miles per hour and wins the Blue Ribbon for the fastest passage
- 1902: The one millionth emigrant leaves Hamburg for the USA on HAPAG’s “Blücher”
- 1904: The American Businessmen's Club of Hamburg is founded, the first American Businessmen's Club in Germany
- 1910: The population surpasses the one million mark
- 1950: Pan American World Airways lands its first scheduled flight in Hamburg, with a Lockheed Constellation, after stopovers in Gander and London
- 1954: Dr. Angela Merkel is born in Hamburg. Elected German Chancellor in 2005
- 1960: The Beatles spend two months in Hamburg with regular concerts (the first outside Great Britain) and find the model for their legendary “mop-top”- haircut here
- 1989: The Port of Hamburg celebrates its 800th birthday
- 2000: Hamburg becomes the seat of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.
- 2007: Hamburg becomes the seat of the World Future Council