History

Hamburg's history begins with the Hammaburg, a moated castle, built about AD 825. The city began to rise as a trading power in the 12th century. In the middle ages, Hamburg became one of the leading cities of the Hanse, a trading network which included more than 60 cities at its height. Hamburg was the most important harbour of the Hanse; grain, cloth, furs, herrings, spices, timber and metals were traded here.

The big fire of 1842 levelled most of the city, but it was rebuilt and later on, Hamburg became one of the most important ports for trade with and also emigration to America. The harbour expanded even more, and from 1881 to 1888 the Speicherstadt (i.e. Storage City) was built, because more room for the goods was needed. In the following years, the Speicherstadt was filled with coffee, cocoa, spices and carpets.
Some goods are still stored there today, and you can still smell coffee and spices walking through the streets and canals of the Speicherstadt.

World War I took most of the city’s merchant fleet away, and also the 3rd Reich turned out to be a bad choice for Hamburg. Its open-minded and liberal mentality was cut back by Hitler’s fascists. There has been an opposition – the “Swing-Jugend” was famous in the thirties – but in the end, Hamburg also became a national socialist city. Visit the “Moorweide” in the city – the square where Hamburgs jews were deported - and the concentration camp in Neuengamme.
World War II destroyed Hamburg much more than the first: The inner city and port were destroyed almost completely, and the firestorm created by allied bombing on 28 July 1943 killed more than 50,000 civilians and burnt out entire streets and neighbourhoods.
As a result of the bombings, Hamburg has no real old city; there are several old buildings scattered throughout the city, though – so keep your eyes open!

After the war, Hamburg was part of the German “Wirtschaftswunder”. The harbour is still important for city economics, but Hamburg also became Germany’s media capital. Many of the country’s biggest print publications are produced here. Hamburg has developed into a service metropolis. Other important sectors are civil aviation, microelectronics and communications industries.