Hamburg's path into modernity

The Great Fire

In the early hours of May 5, 1842, a signal from a fire-watcher summoned Hamburg's fire brigades to a warehouse in the Deichstrasse: fire had broken out. The fire brigades were well-trained and Hamburg's fire extinguishing equipment was exemplary, but they were unable to put out the fire. The closely-built half-timbered houses with highly combustible goods inside kept on feeding the fire. In just 82 hours, the flames destroyed more than a quarter of the city center. When it was rebuilt, the burnt part of the city was laid out in modern style with broader streets, gas-powered street lighting, and a central supply of fresh water. Hamburg was making its way into the modern world.

Between 1850 and the 1930s, nearly 5,000,000 emigrants left the country via the port of Hamburg. Most of the passengers boarding the Frisia in Hamburg were emigrants, that is to say they had purchased one-way tickets to New York. For many, it was a voyage into the unknown and a considerable material risk.

Around 1900

Hamburg was now part of Kaiser Wilhelm's empire, with part of the port a so-called "free port," an area that counted as a foreign customs territory in relation to the city and the empire. Goods could be handled here quickly and duty free.

"Our future lies upon the water"—this was Kaiser Wilhelm II's promise to his people. Hamburg benefited from this dream of the future: the city gained a free port. By the time the then highly regarded artist Hans Olde painted this portrait of the Kaiser in 1915, Germany had become the second biggest economic power in the world after England, and the First World War was raging.

The notorious inns in the port of Hamburg were more than just places for sailors and harbor workers to relax. They were also a news exchange, employment agency, and welfare center. In payment for their bill or in return for their services, the landlords would sometimes accept souvenirs from all over the world: embalmed deep sea fish or reptiles, dried coral, hand-carved masks, model ships, and paintings, all of which added to the charm of the inns.

Hamburg's development was always closely tied to the Elbe. The river by no means runs its natural course. Ever since the Middle Ages, the people of Hamburg have controlled the Elbe's flow, building dikes or cutting off its tributaries. The model shows what is so special about Hamburg. Although the port of Hamburg is over 100 km from the open sea, it is so favorably located that it is sometimes referred to as the most southerly port in Northern Europe and the most westerly port in Eastern Europe. The marked shipping lanes are extremely important because they made the Elbe navigable for ever-larger ships.