Timeline of Hamburg
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Hamburg, Germany.
Prior to 16th century
- 831 – Bishopric established.
- 845 – Town sacked by Norsemen.
- 1189
- * Adolf III of Holstein gets charter from Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I that gives Hamburg a court, jurisdiction, and fishing rights.
- * St. Peter's Church built.
- 1190 – Alster dam installed.
- 1201 – Hamburg occupied by forces of Valdemar II of Denmark.
- 1223 – Archbishopric relocated from Hamburg to Bremen.
- 1241 – Lübeck-Hamburg alliance established.
- 1248 – Fire.
- 1256 – St. Catherine's Church active.
- 1284 – 5 August: Fire.
- 1286 – 24 April: acquires rights to maintain permanent fire on Neuwerk.
- 1299 – 1 November: allowed to build a fortified tower, the new work.
- 1310 – completion of the Great Tower Neuwerk.
- 1329 – St. Mary's Cathedral consecrated.
- 1350 – Black Death.
- 1356 – begins.
- 1375 – Grocers' Guild formed.
- 1390 – Public clock installed.
- 1410 – Constitution of Hamburg established.
- 1412 –.
- 1418 – St. Peter's Church rebuilt.
- 1479 – established in the Town Hall.
- 1491 – Printing press in operation.
- 1500 – City expands its borders.
16th–18th centuries
- 1510 – Hamburg becomes an imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire.
- 1529
- * Protestant Reformation.
- * Council of citizens established.
- * Johanneum founded.
- 1536 – Hamburg joins Schmalkaldic League.
- 1558 – Hamburg Stock Exchange established.
- 1567 – Trade with the Company of Merchant Adventurers of London established.
- 1590 – Berenberg Bank founded.
- 1615 – City walls extended around Hamburg-Neustadt.
- 1619 – founded.
- 1630 – Bremen–Lübeck–Hamburg defensive alliance formed.
- 1654 – in use.
- 1663 – Erbauliche Monaths Unterredungen magazine begins publication.
- 1665 – Hamburg Chamber of Commerce founded.
- 1669
- * St. Michael's Church built.
- * launched.
- 1678 – Oper am Gänsemarkt opens; premiere of Theile's opera Adam und Eva.
- 1679 – Coffee house in business.
- 1705 – Premiere of Handel's opera Almira.
- 1710 – established.
- 1712 – Plague.
- 1735 – founded.
- 1762
- * City occupied by Danish forces.
- * St. Michael's Church built.
- 1765
- * and Patriotic Club founded.
- * Komödienhaus built.
- 1767 – Hamburgische Entreprise established.
- 1778 – Hamburger Ersparungskasse established.
- 1787 – City directory published.
- 1789 – Clubbs der Freundschaft founded.
- 1790 – United States consulate established.
- 1792 – formed.
- 1799 – H. J. Merck & Co. in business.
19th century
1800s–1840s
- 1805 – founded.
- 1806 – 19 November: French occupation of city begins.
- 1810 – Hoffmann und Campe publisher in business.
- 1811 – City becomes capital of the French Bouches-de-l'Elbe department.
- 1813
- * Siege of Hamburg.
- * Hamburg Women's Association established.
- 1814 – Hamburg Citizen Militia and Hamburg Police formed.
- 1815 – 8 June: City becomes a member state of the German Confederation.
- 1821 – Lehmann's botanical garden established.
- 1823
- *Hospital built in St. George.
- *Altona Observatory founded by Heinrich Christian Schumacher.
- 1825 – February flood of 1825.
- 1827 – City Theatre opens.
- 1828 – Hamburg Philharmonic Society formed.
- 1833 – Rauhes Haus founded.
- 1834 – Johanneum building constructed.
- 1835 – Coat of arms of Hamburg redesigned.
- 1838 – English Church built.
- 1839 – founded.
- 1840
- * Gymnasium founded.
- * Population: 136,956.
- 1841 – Circus Gymnasticus opens.
- 1842
- * Exchange built.
- * 5–8 May: Great Fire of Hamburg.
- 1843
- * Thalía Theatre built.
- * established.
- 1845 – shopping arcade built.
- 1846 – Berliner Railway Station established.
- 1847
- * Hamburg America Line in business.
- * Patriotic Club building constructed.
- 1848 – in business.
- 1849
- * newspaper begins publication.
- * St. Peter's Church rebuilt again.
1850s–1890s
- 1850 – Kunsthalle opens.
- 1855 – January: Flood.
- 1856 – North German Bank and Union Bank established.
- 1859
- * built.
- * Hamburg Frauenchor founded.
- 1861
- * Museum Godeffroy opens.
- * Population: 178,841.
- 1863
- * ' newspaper in publication.
- * Zoological Garden of Hamburg opens.
- * Rebuilt St. Nicholas' Church dedicated.
- 1865
- * Lübeck–Hamburg railway begins operating; Lübecker Railway Station established.
- * built.
- 1866
- * Horsecar tram begins operating.
- * established.
- * 21 August: City becomes part of the North German Confederation.
- 1867 – Trabrennbahn Bahrenfeld built.
- 1868 – St. Georg becomes part of city.
- 1869 – Horner Rennbahn and Kunsthalle built.
- 1871
- * City becomes part of the German Empire.
- * Population: 240,251.
- * branch established.
- 1872 – Venloer Railway Station established.
- 1873
- * Photographic Society founded.
- * Frei Hafen bridge constructed.
- 1874 – Hagenbeck's zoo opens.
- 1877
- * Ohlsdorf Cemetery established near city.
- * Blohm + Voss shipbuilders in business near city.
- 1878 – Museum for Art and Industry founded.
- 1879
- * headquartered in Hamburg.
- * Holsten Brewery in business.
- 1880 – Steinway & Sons piano factory in operation.
- 1883 – Speicherstadt construction begins in the Port of Hamburg.
- 1887
- * ' newspaper begins publication.
- * Sport-Club Germania Hamburg founded.
- * Central post office built.
- 1888
- * Hamburg joins German Customs Union.
- * Harbourworks and iron bridge constructed.
- * Free Port opens.
- 1889 – 15 May: Exhibition of Trade and Industry opens.
- 1890
- * German East Africa Line in business.
- * May: Gas-worker strike.
- * Population: 323,923.
- 1891 – Natural History Museum built.
- 1892
- *.
- * German Open Tennis Championships begin.
- * Hamburger Dom relocated to Heiligengeistfeld fair ground.
- 1894 – St. Pauli becomes part of city.
- 1896
- * November: Dockworker strike.
- * rebuilt.
- 1897 – Hamburg Rathaus built.
- 1898 – Hamburg-Altona railway station opens.
- 1899 – founded.
- 1900
- * Institute for Maritime and Tropical Diseases opens.
- * Shipbuilding school founded.
20th century
1900–1945
- 1901 – Civil law courts built.
- 1904 – American Businessmen's Club of Hamburg founded.
- 1905 – Population: 802,793.
- 1906
- * Hamburg Hauptbahnhof opens.
- * Altona-Hamburg railway begins operating.
- 1907
- * Tierpark Hagenbeck established.
- * Stadion Hoheluft opens.
- 1908
- * established.
- * Music Hall inaugurated.
- * Simplo Fullfeder pen company relocates to Hamburg.
- 1909 – Hotel Atlantic in business.
- 1910 – Sportplatz at Rothenbaum opens.
- 1911 – Hamburg Airport and Elbe Tunnel open.
- 1912
- * Hamburg U-Bahn begins operating.
- * Hamburg-Bergedorf Observatory dedicated.
- * Hamburg-Mannheimer Insurance Corporation in business.
- 1913
- * 3 April: Vaterland passenger ship launched.
- * Gewerkschaftlich-Genossenschaftliche Versicherungsaktiengesellschaft in business.
- 1914 – Hamburg Stadtpark opens.
- 1918
- * Hamburg Kammerspiele founded.
- * Hamburger Volkszeitung newspaper begins publication.
- 1919 – University of Hamburg and Hamburger Sport-Verein established.
- 1922 – Museum of Hamburg History opens.
- 1923 – Labour and Socialist International founded in Hamburg.
- 1924
- * Nordische Rundfunk radio begins broadcasting.
- * Chilehaus built.
- 1925
- * Helms-Museum and Hamburg School of Astrology established.
- * Population: 1,079,126.
- 1926 – Botanischer Sondergarten Wandsbek established.
- 1930
- * Planten un Blomen created.
- * Population: 1,145,124.
- 1933
- * Carl Vincent Krogmann becomes mayor.
- * Hamburger Flugzeugbau in business.
- 1934
- * Gau Hamburg established.
- * Transmitter Hamburg-Billstedt begins operating.
- 1938
- * Neuengamme concentration camp established by SS.
- * major expansion of the land of Hamburg per the Greater Hamburg Act:
- ** the cities Altona, Wandsbek, and Harburg-Wilhelmsburg join
- ** and the cities Geesthacht and Cuxhaven leave the territory of the Land Hamburg.
- 1939 – Bombing of Hamburg in World War II begins.
- 1945
- * Bombing of Hamburg in World War II ends.
- * Eppendorf founded.
- * Population: 1,350,278.
1946–1990s
- 1946
- * 5 December: Hamburg Ravensbrück trials for war crimes begin at the.
- * Max Brauer becomes mayor.
- 1948
- * Hamburger Abendblatt newspaper and Stern news magazine begin publication.
- * Population: 1,518,900.
- 1949 – Hamburger Morgenpost newspaper begins publication.
- 1950 – Public University of Music established.
- 1951 – Institut français Hamburg founded.
- 1952
- * Der Spiegel news magazine headquartered in city.
- * Bild newspaper begins publication.
- * Constitution of Hamburg ratified.
- * UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning headquartered in city.
- 1953
- * Volksparkstadion opens.
- * International garden show held.
- 1955 – Hamburg State Opera building opens.
- 1957
- * Fazle Omar Mosque built.
- * Streit's Haus Filmtheater opens.
- * British Army School and Hamburg Symphony Orchestra established.
- 1958 – Hamburg Atlantic Line in business.
- 1959 – Kaiserkeller night club opens.
- 1960 – August: English rock band The Beatles begin performing in Hamburg.
- 1961 – Population: 1,840,543.
- 1962
- * Spiegel scandal.
- * North Sea flood of 1962.
- 1963
- * Millerntor-Stadion opens.
- * St. James' Church restored.
- * Alter Botanischer Garten Hamburg greenhouses built.
- 1964 - Deutsches Übersee-Institut headquartered in Hamburg.
- 1965
- * Gruner + Jahr publisher in business.
- * Hamburg Transport Association established.
- * Imam Ali Mosque built.
- * NDR Fernsehen headquartered in city.
- 1967 – Eros Center brothel in business on the Reeperbahn.
- 1968
- * Cherry Blossom Festival begins.
- * Alsterdorfer Sporthalle and Gruenspan music club open.
- 1969 – waived older rights on harbour estate in Cuxhaven in favour of Neuwerk and Scharhörn to build an offshore harbour.
- 1970
- * Hamburg University of Applied Sciences founded.
- * Population: 1,793,640.
- 1971 – and Fabrik cultural centre founded.
- 1973
- * Congress Center Hamburg opens.
- * University of the German Federal Armed Forces and Neumeier's Hamburg Ballet established.
- * built.
- 1974
- * Köhlbrand Bridge built.
- * Hans-Ulrich Klose becomes mayor.
- 1975 – New Elbe Tunnel opens.
- 1976 – Die Motte youth centre founded in Ottensen.
- 1978 – Technical University of Hamburg founded.
- 1979
- * Botanischer Garten Hamburg opens.
- * Werkstatt 3 co-operative founded in Ottensen.
- 1980 – Stadtteilarchiv Ottensen founded.
- 1981
- * Protest against proposed Brokdorf Nuclear Power Plant.
- * Klaus von Dohnányi becomes mayor.
- * Squat on Hafenstraße begins.
- 1982 – Kampnagel established.
- 1984
- * Chaos Communication Congress begins.
- * Hamburg Institute for Social Research founded.
- 1985
- * Birdland jazz club opens.
- * Museum der Arbeit established.
- 1986
- * Chaos Computer Club headquartered in city.
- * Radio Hamburg begins broadcasting.
- * Hamburg Marathon begins.
- * Brokdorf Nuclear Power Plant commissioned near city.
- 1988
- * Center for Science and International Security at the University of Hamburg founded.
- * Henning Voscherau becomes mayor.
- * Population: 1,603,070.
- 1989
- * Deichtorhallen art centre opens.
- * founded.
- 1990 – headquartered in city.
- 1992 – Filmfest Hamburg begins.
- 1994 – Film and Television Museum Hamburg and Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hamburg established.
- 1996 – City website online.
- 1997 – Ortwin Runde becomes mayor.
- 1998
- * Afghan Museum established.
- * Am Rothenbaum built.
- 2000
- * Bucerius Law School established.
- * International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea headquartered in city.
21st century
- 2001
- * Long Night of Museums begins.
- * Container Terminal Altenwerder opens.
- * Ole von Beust becomes mayor.
- 2002
- * 4 November: Bambule eviction.
- * O2 World arena opens.
- * Bucerius Kunst Forum founded.
- 2003 – Hamburg Pride founded.
- 2004
- * begins.
- * Major Records in business.
- 2005 – eVendi Arena built.
- 2006 – German Institute of Global and Area Studies established.
- 2007
- * World Future Council and headquartered in city.
- * 29 May: Anti-globalization protest.
- * Dockville music festival.
- * Elbphilharmonie construction begins.
- 2008
- * HafenCity district and established.
- * begins.
- * Museum für Kunst und Kultur an der Elbe opens in Jenisch House.
- 2009
- * International Chamber Music Competition Hamburg begins.
- * Student protest for education reform.
- 2010 – Christoph Ahlhaus becomes mayor.
- 2011
- * Olaf Scholz becomes mayor.
- * European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean Foundation headquartered in city.
- 2012 – Population: 1,813,587.
- 2013 – December: 2013–14 Hamburg demonstrations begin.
- 2016 – 31 October: Elbphilharmonie concert hall is officially completed.
- 2017 – 7 July: G20 summit meeting held.
in English
in German