The Palmaille () is a famous avenue of Altona,

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. It is considered one of northern Europe's most complete examples of a Neoclassical urban ensemble. First developed in the 1630s as a lane for the then popular '' palle-maille'', in the course of the 18th century the Palmaille became Altona's most sought-after address. At the time, the town of Altona was part of the

Duchy of Holstein The Duchy of Holstein (; ) was the northernmost state of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the present German state of Schleswig-Holstein. It originated when King Christian I of Denmark had his County of Holstein-Rendsburg elevated to a duchy ...

being in personal union with the Kingdom of

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, and Danish monarchs promoted it as a fierce economic rival to Hamburg. The wealthy merchant families of Altona had their stately palaces built by

Christian Frederik Hansen Christian Frederik Hansen (29 February 1756 – 10 July 1845), known as C. F. Hansen, was the leading Danish architect between the late 18th century and the mid 19th century, and on account of his position at the Royal Danish Academy of Art ('' ...

(1756–1845), then Director of the Royal Danish Academy of Arts and Royal Danish master-builder for the

; later also by his nephew Johann Matthias Hansen (1786–1825). Some of the buildings were hit during World War II, but could be rebuilt according to Hansen's original drawings.Palmaille
Bezirksamt Altona at ''hamburg.de'', Retrieved 23. October 2015

References

External links

Streets in Hamburg Altona, Hamburg Neoclassical architecture in Germany {{Hamburg-geo-stub