Altstadt (, literally: "

Old town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...

"), more precisely Hamburg-Altstadt – as not to be mistaken with Hamburg-Altona-Altstadt – is one of the inner-city districts of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

History

The area of today's Altstadt had a minor

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

settlement dating from the 9th or 8th century BC. An Ingaevonian settlement at this location was known by the name " Treva" – a strategic trading node on amber routes during

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

and

Late Antiquity Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was popularized by Peter Brown (historian), Peter Brown in 1971, and this periodiza ...

. In the 8th century CE, Saxon merchants established what was to become the nucleus of Hamburg: the " Hammaburg", then a refuge fort located at today's Domplatz, the site of the former cathedral.Hammaburg - The Legend
, Archäologisches Museum Hamburg, hamburg-guide.de, Retrieved 23 March 2015 Under Frankish rule, a baptistery was installed in 804 and Hammaburg strengthened by

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

in 811. Quickly, the place grew to a sizable

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

, declared a bishop's see in 831, an archbishop's see a year later. For the next 600 years, the history of Altstadt was equivalent to the history of Hamburg. By the end of the 15th century, the then Hanseatic city-republic and free Imperial city had accumulated various territorial possessions in its hinterland. Eventually, Hamburg's 13th-century city-walls received a couple of extensions: first in the 1530s, then again in the 1620s to include all of adjacent Neustadt. Regarding the urban history of Altstadt, only a few structures prior to the 17th century are left: repeated damming and diverting of the

Alster The Alster () is a right tributary of the Elbe river in Northern Germany. It has its source near Henstedt-Ulzburg, Schleswig-Holstein, flows somewhat southwards through much of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg and joins the Elbe in central ...

and its canals, the Great Fire (1842), the bombing in World War II (1941–1945) and modern infrastructure projects (particularly during the 1880s to 1900s, 1920s and 1950s to 1970s) left Hamburg's inner-city with a mainly 19th and 20th-century built environment.

Geography

The Hammaburg, Hamburg's origin, was established on a former

headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, Jo ...

, between the confluences of

and Bille into the

Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) 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 Republic), then Ge ...

Stream. Over the centuries Alster and Bille were impoldered and diverted several times, resulting in an ever different geography. Today, Altstadt is bordered by Alster (i.e. Alsterfleet and Binnenalster) to the West and North-West, the rail tracks of Hamburg-Altona link line and Hauptbahnhof to the East, and Zollkanal to the South. Districts bordering Hamburg-Altstadt are (starting clockwise in the North-West): Neustadt, St. Georg, Hammerbrook and HafenCity.

Subdivisions

Hamburg-Altstadt has four designated quarters ( German: ''Viertel'', or specifically used in Hamburg: ''Quartier'') for statistical and planning purposes, however not recognized as administrative subdivisions.

Streets and squares

The single most important square in Altstadt is Rathausmarkt, both by location and function. It is the starting point of Alter Wall, Reesendamm/ Ballindamm, Mönckebergstraße and Große Johannisstraße/ Großer Burstah, all important streets in Altstadt. Other important squares in Altstadt include Burchardplatz, Domplatz, Gerhart-Hauptmann-Platz, and Hopfenmarkt. Ballindamm b.jpg, Ballindamm Grosser Burstah Hamburg.jpg, Großer Burstah Mönckebergstraße Hamburg 2009 556.JPG, Mönckebergstraße Spitalerstraße Hamburg 2009 318.jpg, Spitalerstraße Hamburg Ferdinandstraße DS954m.jpg, Ferdinandstraße The eastern end of Altstadt is encircled by " Ring 1" (Glockengießerwall, Steintorwall), a 1880s-built ring road continuing into Neustadt. Willy-Brandt-Straße is part of Bundesstraße 4, a 1960s-built thoroughfare, crossing Altstadt midway from East to West.

Politics

These are the results of Altstadt in the Hamburg state election:

Culture

Landmarks and cultural heritage

Major landmarks in Altstadt are three of Hamburg's five main-churches (''Hauptkirchen''): St. Jacobi, St. Katharinen and St. Petri; the former St. Nikolai today serves as a memorial against war. The Hamburg Rathaus is an imposing Renaissance Revival structure, housing Hamburg's

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

(''Bürgerschaft''). Forming a joint building ensemble back-to-back with the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, it was built after the Great Fire of 1842. Other landmarks include various buildings in the Kontorhaus District (most notably Chilehaus, Pressehaus and Sprinkenhof), and the Kunsthalle.

Museums and cultural institutions

* Museums ** Hamburg Kunsthalle & Galerie der Gegenwart ** Deichtorhallen & Haus der Photographie ** Bucerius Kunst Forum ** Chocoversum – Chocolate museum * Music and performing arts venues ** Thalia Theater ** Das Schiff ** Markthalle

References

External links

Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District with Chilehaus / UNESCO Official Website
*
Images
on bilderbuch-hamburg.de {{Authority control Hamburg-Altstadt Hamburg-Mitte