Wilhelmsburg () ( nds, Willemsborg) is a quarter (''Stadtteil'') of

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

within the borough (''Bezirk'') of Hamburg-Mitte. It is situated on several islands between the Northern and Southern branches of the

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Re ...

river (''Norderelbe'' and ''Süderelbe''), together with the other quarters of

Steinwerder Steinwerder (German "stein" stone, "werder" (archaic) island or peninsula, translation "stone peninsula") is a quarter of Hamburg, Germany in the borough Hamburg-Mitte on the southern bank of the river Elbe. It is a primarily maritime industrial ...

Veddel Veddel () is a quarter (''Stadtteil'') in the Hamburg-Mitte borough of the Free and Hanseatic city of Hamburg on the homonymous island in the Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rive ...

and Kleiner Grasbrook. The latter almost exclusively consists of facilities of the

port of Hamburg The Port of Hamburg (german: Hamburger Hafen, ) is a seaport on the river Elbe in Hamburg, Germany, from its mouth on the North Sea. Known as Germany's "Gateway to the World" (''Tor zur Welt''), it is the country's largest seaport by volume ...

. In 2020 the population was 53,064.

History

In 1642,

George William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg George William (german: Georg Wilhelm; 26 January 1624 – 28 August 1705) was the first Welf Duke of Lauenburg after its occupation in 1689. From 1648 to 1665, he was the ruler of the Principality of Calenberg as an appanage from his eldest ...

acquired three islets in the river

and connected them by means of dams. The resultant island was named Wilhelmsburg in his honour. In 1705, the Principality of Lüneburg passed on to the

Electorate of Hanover The Electorate of Hanover (german: Kurfürstentum Hannover or simply ''Kurhannover'') was an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire, located in northwestern Germany and taking its name from the capital city of Hanover. It was formally known as ...

, and Wilhelmsburg became part of the Hanoverian state, which then subsequently became the

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

n Province of Hanover in 1866. In 1925, the Prussian authorities designated Wilhelmsburg as a city district, and merged it with nearby Harburg two years later to form the city of

Harburg-Wilhelmsburg Harburg-Wilhelmsburg was a city in the Prussian Province of Hanover briefly in existence from 1927 and 1937, resulting from the merger of the cities of Harburg and Wilhelmsburg. In 1937, Harburg-Wilhelmsburg, along with the cities from the Prussi ...

. In 1937, Harburg-Wilhelmsburg, along with the cities from the Prussian Province of Schleswig-Holstein, Altona and Wandsbek, was annexed to

in the Greater Hamburg Act. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the port of Hamburg and therefore Wilhelmsburg were targets of the air raids of the so-called Operation Gomorrah. A subcamp to the Neuengamme concentration camp existed in Wilhelmsburg. On the night of February 16–17, 1962, Wilhelmsburg was widely flooded and seriously damaged by the North Sea flood. On March 1, 2008, Wilhelmsburg was transferred from the borough Harburg to the borough Hamburg-Mitte by a Hamburg law.

Geography

In 2006, according to the statistical office of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein, the quarter Wilhelmsburg has a total area of . Wihelmsburg borders in the north to the quarters

, Kleiner Grasbrook and

. In the east are the quarters Spadenland and

Ochsenwerder Ochsenwerder () is a quarter in Hamburg, Germany, in the borough of Bergedorf. In 2020 the population was over 3,000. Agriculture plays a very big role in this quarter for the metropolitan area. Geography Ochsenwerder is in the southeast of Ham ...

of the Bergedorf borough. In the south are the quarters Neuland and Harburg of the Harburg borough and the state of

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

and in the east are the quarters

Moorburg Moorburg () is a place in Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1 ...

and

Altenwerder Altenwerder () is a quarter in the Harburg borough of the Free and Hanseatic city of Hamburg in northern Germany. The former village on an Elbe island became a port expansion area in the 1960s. In the 1970s the city of Hamburg announced the form ...

of the Harburg borough.

Demographics

In 2006, Wilhelmsburg had 49,132 inhabitants. The population density was . 22.6% of the population were under the age of 18, and 14.6% were 65 years of age or older. 33.7% were resident aliens. 4,298 people were registered as unemployed.Residents registration office, source: statistical office Nord of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein (2006) In 1999 there were 21,345 households, out of which 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 39.9% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.18. Population by year In 2006, there were 7,204 criminal offences (147 crimes per 1,000 people). There were 8 elementary schools and 6 secondary schools in the quarter Wilhelmsburg and 52 physicians in private practice and 11 pharmacies.

Economy

Parts of the

are located in Wilhelmsburg.

Infrastructure

The hospital ''Wilhelmsburger Krankenhaus Groß Sand'' has 257 beds and a day care center for geriatrics.List of Hospitals, p. 18

Transportation

Wilhelmsburg is serviced by the

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be ...

system of the city train with the Wilhelmsburg station. The islands of Wilhelmsburg, Steinwerder, Veddel and Kleiner Grasbrook are connected via numerous bridges. The main connections to other parts of Hamburg are the ''Hamburger Elbbrücken'' (Hamburg Elbe Bridges) which consist of the ''Norder- und Süderelbbrücken (Northern and Southern Elbe Bridges)'', that connect Wilhelmsburg with the City Center of Hamburg in the north and with the quarter of ''Harburg'' in the south, the ''Kattwyk-Bridge'' (world's largest vertical lift bridge) in the southwest and the

Köhlbrand Bridge The Köhlbrand Bridge (german: Köhlbrandbrücke) is a cable-stayed bridge in Hamburg, Germany,Stahl, F. L., & Gagnon, C. P. (1996)Cable Corrosion in Bridges and Other Structures: Causes and SolutionsASCE Publications. . Retrieved on 16 March 20 ...

which is a major connection from Wilhelmsburg to the nearby motorway 7 and the ''New Elbe Tunnel'' in the northwest. According to the Department of Motor Vehicles (Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt), in the quarter Wilhelmsburg were 13,714 private cars registered (280 cars/1,000 people).Source: statistical office Nord of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein (2006)

Culture

Since 2007, the music and art festival Dockville takes place every year in summer.

Notes

References

* Act of the areal organisation, July 6, 200
''Gesetz über die räumliche Gliederung der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg'' (RäumGiG)

Statistical office Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein
Statistisches Amt für Hamburg und Schleswig-Holstein, official website
List of hospitals ''Krankenhaus-Verzeichnis'' Hamburg 2006
Ministry of Social Affairs, Family Affairs, Health and Consumer Protection ''Behörde für Soziales, Familie, Gesundheit und Verbraucherschutz'' {{Authority control Quarters of Hamburg Hamburg-Mitte Islands of Hamburg