Part 8

_Harbour._--It was the accession of Hamburg to the customs union in 1888 which gave such a vigorous impulse to her more recent commercial development. At the same time a portion of the port was set apart as a free harbour, altogether an area of 750 acres of water and 1750 acres of dry land. In anticipation of this event a gigantic system of docks, basins and quays was constructed, at a total cost of some L7,000,000 (of which the imperial treasury contributed L2,000,000), between the confluence of the Alster and the railway bridge (1868-1873), an entire quarter of the town inhabited by some 24,000 people being cleared away to make room for these accessories of a great port. On the north side of the Elbe there are the Sandtor basin (3380 ft. long, 295 to 427 ft. wide), in which British and Dutch steamboats and steamboats of the Sloman (Mediterranean) line anchor. South of this lies the Grasbrook basin (quayage of 2100 ft. and 1693 ft. alongside), which is used by French, Swedish and transatlantic steamers. At the quay point between these two basins there are vast state granaries. On the outer (i.e. river) side of the Grasbrook dock is the quay at which the emigrants for South America embark, and from which the mail boats for East Africa, the boats of the Woermann (West Africa) line, and the Norwegian tourist boats depart. To the east of these two is the small Magdeburg basin, penetrating north, and the Baaken basin, penetrating east, i.e. parallel to the river. The latter affords accommodation to the transatlantic steamers, including the emigrant ships of the Hamburg-America line, though their "ocean mail boats" generally load and unload at Cuxhaven. On the south bank of the stream there follow in succession, going from east to west, the Moldau dock for river craft, the sailing vessel dock (Segelschiff Hafen, 3937 ft. long, 459 to 886 ft. wide, 26-1/4 ft. deep), the Hansa dock, India dock, petroleum dock, several swimming and dry docks; and in the west of the free port area three other large docks, one of 77 acres for river craft, the others each 56 acres in extent, and one 23-3/4 ft. deep, the other 26-1/4 ft. deep, at low water, constructed in 1900-1901. In 1897 Hamburg was provided with a huge floating dock, 558 ft. long and 84 ft. in maximum breadth, capable of holding a vessel of 17,500 tons and draught not exceeding 29 ft., so constructed and equipped that in time of need (war) it could be floated down to Cuxhaven. During the last 25 years of the 19th century the channel of the Elbe was greatly improved and deepened, and during the last two years of the 19th century some L360,000 was spent by Hamburg alone in regulating and correcting this lower course of the river. The new Kuhwarder-basin, on the left bank of the river, as well as two other large dock basins (now leased to the Hamburg-American Company), raise the number of basins to twelve in all.

_Emigration._--Hamburg is one of the principal continental ports for the embarkation of emigrants. In 1881-1890, on an average they numbered 90,000 a year (of whom 60,000 proceeded to the United States). In 1900 the number was 87,153 (and to the United States 64,137). The number of emigrant Germans has enormously decreased of late years, Russia and Austria-Hungary now being most largely represented. For the accommodation of such passengers large and convenient emigrant shelters have been recently erected close to the wharf of embarkation.

_Health and Population._--The health of the city of Hamburg and the adjoining district may be described as generally good, no epidemic diseases having recently appeared to any serious degree. The malady causing the greatest number of deaths is that of pulmonary consumption; but better housing accommodation has of late years reduced the mortality from this disease very considerably. The results of the census of 1905 showed the population of the city (not including the rural districts belonging to the state of Hamburg) to be 802,793.

Hamburg is well supplied with places of amusement, especially of the more popular kind. Its Stadt-Theater, rebuilt in 1874, has room for 1750 spectators and is particularly devoted to operatic performances; the Thalia-Theater dates from 1841, and holds 1700 to 1800 people, and the Schauspielhaus (for drama) from 1900 people, and there are some seven or eight minor establishments. Theatrical performances were introduced into the city in the 17th century, and 1678 is the date of the first opera, which was played in a house in the Gansemarkt. Under Schroder and Lessing the Hamburg stage rose into importance. Though contributing few names of the highest rank to German literature, the city has been intimately associated with the literary movement. The historian Lappenberg and Friedrich von Hagedorn were born in Hamburg; and not only Lessing, but Heine and Klopstock lived there for some time.

_History._--Hamburg probably had its origin in a fortress erected in 808 by Charlemagne, on an elevation between the Elbe and Alster, as a defence against the Slavs, and called Hammaburg because of the surrounding forest (_Hamme_). In 811 Charlemagne founded a church here, perhaps on the site of a Saxon place of sacrifice, and this became a great centre for the evangelization of the north of Europe, missionaries from Hamburg introducing Christianity into Jutland and the Danish islands and even into Sweden and Norway. In 834 Hamburg became an archbishopric, St Ansgar, a monk of Corbie and known as the apostle of the North, being the first metropolitan. In 845 church, monastery and town were burnt down by the Norsemen, and two years later the see of Hamburg was united with that of Bremen and its seat transferred to the latter city. The town, rebuilt after this disaster, was again more than once devastated by invading Danes and Slavs. Archbishop Unwan of Hamburg-Bremen (1013-1029) substituted a chapter of canons for the monastery, and in 1037 Archbishop Bezelin (or Alebrand) built a stone cathedral and a palace on the Elbe. In 1110 Hamburg, with Holstein, passed into the hands of Adolph I., count of Schauenburg, and it is with the building of the Neustadt (the present parish of St Nicholas) by his grandson, Adolph III. of Holstein, that the history of the commercial city actually begins. In return for a contribution to the costs of a crusade, he obtained from the emperor Frederick I. in 1189 a charter granting Hamburg considerable franchises, including exemption from tolls, a separate court and jurisdiction, and the rights of fishery on the Elbe from the city to the sea. The city council (_Rath_), first mentioned in 1190, had jurisdiction over both the episcopal and the new town. Craft gilds were already in existence, but these had no share in the government; for, though the Lubeck rule excluding craftsmen from the _Rath_ did not obtain, they were excluded in practice. The counts, of course, as over-lords, had their _Vogt_ (_advocatus_) in the town, but this official, as the city grew in power, became subordinate to the _Rath_, as at Lubeck.

The wealth of the town was increased in 1189 by the destruction of the flourishing trading centre of Bardowieck by Henry the Lion; from this time it began to be much frequented by Flemish merchants. In 1201 the city submitted to Valdemar of Schleswig, after his victory over the count of Holstein, but in 1225, owing to the capture of King Valdemar II. of Denmark by Henry of Schwerin, it once more exchanged the Danish over-lordship for that of the counts of Schauenburg, who established themselves here and in 1231 built a strong castle to hold it in check. The defensive alliance of the city with Lubeck in 1241, extended for other purpose by the treaty of 1255, practically laid the foundations of the Hanseatic League (q.v.), of which Hamburg continued to be one of the principal members. The internal organization of the city, too, was rendered more stable by the new constitution of 1270, and the recognition in 1292 of the complete internal autonomy of the city by the count of Schauenburg. The exclusion of the handicraftsmen from the _Rath_ led, early in the 15th century, to a rising of the craft gilds against the patrician merchants, and in 1410 they forced the latter to recognize the authority of a committee of 48 burghers, which concluded with the senate the so-called First Recess; there were, however, fresh outbursts in 1458 and 1483, which were settled by further compromises. In 1461 Hamburg did homage to Christian I. of Denmark, as heir of the Schauenburg counts; but the suzerainty of Denmark was merely nominal and soon repudiated altogether; in 1510 Hamburg was made a free imperial city by the emperor Maximilian I.

In 1529 the Reformation was definitively established in Hamburg by the Great Recess of the 19th of February, which at the same time vested the government of the city in the _Rath_, together with the three colleges of the _Oberalten_, the Forty-eight (increased to 60 in 1685) and the Hundred and Forty-four (increased to 180). The ordinary burgesses consisted of the freeholders and the master-workmen of the gilds. In 1536 Hamburg joined the league of Schmalkalden, for which error it had to pay a heavy fine in 1547 when the league had been defeated. During the same period the Lutheran zeal of the citizens led to the expulsion of the Mennonites and other Protestant sects, who founded Altona. The loss this brought to the city was, however, compensated for by the immigration of Protestant refugees from the Low Countries and Jews from Spain and Portugal. In 1549, too, the English merchant adventurers removed their staple from Antwerp to Hamburg.

The 17th century saw notable developments. Hamburg had established, so early as the 16th century, a regular postal service with certain cities in the interior of Germany, e.g. Leipzig and Breslau; in 1615 it was included in the postal system of Turn and Taxis. In 1603 Hamburg received a code of laws regulating exchange, and in 1619 the bank was established. In 1615 the Neustadt was included within the city walls. During the Thirty Years' War the city received no direct harm; but the ruin of Germany reacted upon its prosperity, and the misery of the lower orders led to an agitation against the _Rath_. In 1685, at the invitation of the popular leaders, the Danes appeared before Hamburg demanding the traditional homage; they were repulsed, but the internal troubles continued, culminating in 1708 in the victory of the democratic factions. The imperial government, however, intervened, and in 1712 the "Great Recess" established durable good relations between the _Rath_ and the commonalty. Frederick IV. of Denmark, who had seized the opportunity to threaten the city (1712), was bought off with a ransom of 246,000 _Reichsthaler_. Denmark, however, only finally renounced her claims by the treaty of Gottorp in 1768, and in 1770 Hamburg was admitted for the first time to a representation in the diet of the empire.

The trade of Hamburg received its first great impulse in 1783, when the United States, by the treaty of Paris, became an independent power. From this time dates its first direct maritime communication with America. Its commerce was further extended and developed by the French occupation of Holland in 1795, when the Dutch trade was largely directed to its port. The French Revolution and the insecurity of the political situation, however, exercised a depressing and retarding effect. The wars which ensued, the closing of continental ports against English trade, the occupation of the city after the disastrous battle of Jena, and pestilence within its walls brought about a severe commercial crisis and caused a serious decline in its prosperity. Moreover, the great contributions levied by Napoleon on the city, the plundering of its bank by Davoust, and the burning of its prosperous suburbs inflicted wounds from which the city but slowly recovered. Under the long peace which followed the close of the Napoleonic wars, its trade gradually revived, fostered by the declaration of independence of South and Central America, with both of which it energetically opened close commercial relations, and by the introduction of steam navigation. The first steamboat was seen on the Elbe on the 17th of June 1816; in 1826 a regular steam communication was opened with London; and in 1856 the first direct steamship line linked the port with the United States. The great fire of 1842 (5th-8th of May) laid in waste the greatest part of the business quarter of the city and caused a temporary interruption of its commerce. The city, however, soon rose from its ashes, the churches were rebuilt and new streets laid out on a scale of considerable magnificence. In 1866 Hamburg joined the North German Confederation, and in 1871, while remaining outside the Zollverein, became a constituent state of the German empire. In 1883-1888 the works for the Free Harbour were completed, and on the 18th of October 1888 Hamburg joined the Customs Union (Zollverein). In 1892 the cholera raged within its walls, carried off 8500 of its inhabitants, and caused considerable losses to its commerce and industry; but the visitation was not without its salutary fruits, for an improved drainage system, better hospital accommodation, and a purer water-supply have since combined to make it one of the healthiest commercial cities of Europe.

Further details about Hamburg will be found in the following works: O. C. Gaedechens, _Historische Topographie der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg_ (1880); E. H. Wichmann, _Heimatskunde von Hamburg_ (1863); W. Melhop, _Historische Topographie der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg von 1880-1895_ (1896); Wulff, _Hamburgische Gesetze und Verordnungen_ (1889-1896); and W. von Melle, _Das hamburgische Staatsrecht_ (1891). There are many valuable official publications which may be consulted, among these being: _Statistik des hamburgischen Staates_ (1867-1904); _Hamburgs Handel und Schiffahrt_ (1847-1903); the yearly _Hamburgischer Staatskalender_; and _Jahrbuch der Hamburger wissenschaftlichen Anstalten_. See also _Hamburg und seine Bauten_ (1890); H. Benrath, _Lokalfuhrer durch Hamburg und Umgebungen_ (1904); and the consular reports by Sir William Ward, H.B.M.'s consul-general at Hamburg, to whom the author is indebted for great assistance in compiling this article.

For the history of Hamburg see the _Zeitschrift des Vereins fur hamburgische Geschichte_ (1841, fol.); G. Dehio, _Geschichte des Erzbistums Hamburg-Bremen_ (Berlin, 1877); the _Hamburgisches Urkundenbuch_ (1842), the _Hamburgische Chroniken_ (1852-1861), and the _Chronica der Stadt Hamburg bis 1557_ of Adam Tratziger (1865), all three edited by J. M. Lappenberg; the _Briefsammlung des hamburgischen Superintendenten Joachim Westphal 1530-1575_, edited by C. H. W. Sillem (1903); Gallois, _Geschichte der Stadt Hamburg_ (1853-1856); K. Koppmann, _Aus Hamburgs Vergangenheit_ (1885), and _Kammereirechnungen der Stadt Hamburg_ (1869-1894); H. W. C. Hubbe, _Beitrage zur Geschichte der Stadt Hamburg_ (1897); C. Monckeberg, _Geschichte der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg_ (1885); E. H. Wichmann, _Hamburgische Geschichte in Darstellungen aus alter und neuer Zeit_ (1889); and R. Bollheimer, _Zeittafeln der hamburgischen Geschichte_ (1895).

HAMDANI, in full ABU MAHOMMED UL-HASAN IBN AHMAD IBN YA'QUB UL-HAMDANI (d. 945), Arabian geographer, also known as Ibn ul-Ha'ik. Little is known of him except that he belonged to a family of Yemen, was held in repute as a grammarian in his own country, wrote much poetry, compiled astronomical tables, devoted most of his life to the study of the ancient history and geography of Arabia, and died in prison at San'a in 945. His _Geography of the Arabian Peninsula_ (_Kitab Jazirat ul-'Arab_) is by far the most important work on the subject. After being used in manuscript by A. Sprenger in his _Post- und Reiserouten des Orients_ (Leipzig, 1864) and further in his _Alte Geographie Arabiens_ (Bern, 1875), it was edited by D. H. Muller (Leiden, 1884; cf. A. Sprenger's criticism in _Zeitschrift der deutschen morgenlandischen Gesellschaft_, vol. 45, pp. 361-394). Much has also been written on this work by E. Glaser in his various publications on ancient Arabia. The other great work of Hamdani is the _Iklil_ (Crown) concerning the genealogies of the Himyarites and the wars of their kings in ten volumes. Of this, part 8, on the citadels and castles of south Arabia, has been edited and annotated by D. H. Muller in _Die Burgen und Schlosser Sudarabiens_ (Vienna, 1879-1881).

For other works said to have been written by Hamdani cf. G. Flugel's _Die grammatischen Schulen der Araber_ (Leipzig, 1862), pp. 220-221. (G. W. T.)

HAMELIN, FRANCOIS ALPHONSE (1796-1864), French admiral, was born at Pont l'Eveque on the 2nd of September 1796. He went to sea with his uncle, J. F. E. Hamelin, in the "Venus" frigate in 1806 as cabin boy. The "Venus" was part of the French squadron in the Indian Ocean, and young Hamelin had an opportunity of seeing much active service. She, in company with another and a smaller vessel, captured the English frigate "Ceylon" in 1810, but was immediately afterwards captured herself by the "Boadicea," under Commodore Rowley (1765-1842). Young Hamelin was a prisoner of war for a short time. He returned to France in 1811. On the fall of the Empire he had better fortune than most of the Napoleonic officers who were turned ashore. In 1821 he became lieutenant, and in 1823 took part in the French expedition under the duke of Angouleme into Spain. In 1828 he was appointed captain of the "Acteon," and was engaged till 1831 on the coast of Algiers and in the conquest of the town and country. His first command as flag officer was in the Pacific, where he showed much tact during the dispute over the Marquesas Islands with England in 1844. He was promoted vice-admiral in 1848. During the Crimean War he commanded in the Black Sea, and co-operated with Admiral Dundas in the bombardment of Sevastopol 17th of October 1854. His relations with his English colleague were not very cordial. On the 7th of December 1854 he was promoted admiral. Shortly afterwards he was recalled to France, and was named minister of marine. His administration lasted till 1860, and was remarkable for the expeditions to Italy and China organized under his directions; but it was even more notable for the energy shown in adopting and developing the use of armour. The launch of the "Gloire" in 1859 set the example of constructing sea-going iron-clads. The first English iron-clad, the "Warrior," was designed as an answer to the "Gloire." When Napoleon III. made his first concession to Liberal opposition, Admiral Hamelin was one of the ministers sacrificed. He held no further command, and died on the 10th of January 1864.

HAMELN, a town of Germany, in the Prussian province of Hanover, at the confluence of the Weser and Hamel, 33 m. S.W. of Hanover, on the line to Altenbeken, which here effects a junction with railways to Lohne and Brunswick. Pop. (1905) 20,736. It has a venerable appearance and has many interesting and picturesque houses. The chief public buildings of interest are the minster, dedicated to St Boniface and restored in 1870-1875; the town hall; the so-called Rattenfangerhaus (rat-catcher's house) with mural frescoes illustrating the legend (see below); and the Hochzeitshaus (wedding house) with beautiful gables. There are classical, modern and commercial schools. The principal industries are the manufacture of paper, leather, chemicals and tobacco, sugar refining, shipbuilding and salmon fishing. By the steamboats on the Weser there is communication with Karlshafen and Minden. In order to avoid the dangerous part of the river near the town a channel was cut in 1734, the repairing and deepening of which, begun in 1868, was completed in 1873. The Weser is here crossed by an iron suspension bridge 830 ft. in length, supported by a pier erected on an island in the middle of the river.

The older name of Hameln was Hameloa or Hamelowe, and the town owes its origin to an abbey. It existed as a town as early as the 11th century, and in 1259 it was sold by the abbot of Fulda to the bishop of Minden, afterwards passing under the protection of the dukes of Brunswick. About 1540 the Reformation gained an entrance into the town, which was taken by both parties during the Thirty Years' War. In 1757 it capitulated to the French, who, however, vacated it in the following year. Its fortifications were strengthened in 1766 by the erection of Fort George, on an eminence to the west of the town, across the river. On the capitulation of the Hanoverian army in 1803 Hameln fell into the hands of the French; it was retaken by the Prussians in 1806, but, after the battle of Jena, again passed to the French, who dismantled the fortifications and incorporated the town in the kingdom of Westphalia. In 1814 it again became Hanoverian, but in 1866 fell with that kingdom to Prussia.

_Legend of the Pied Piper._--Hameln is famed as the scene of the myth of the piper of Hameln. According to the legend, the town in the year 1284 was infested by a terrible plague of rats. One day there appeared upon the scene a piper clad in a fantastic suit, who offered for a certain sum of money to charm all the vermin into the Weser. His conditions were agreed to, but after he had fulfilled his promise the inhabitants, on the ground that he was a sorcerer, declined to fulfil their part of the bargain, whereupon on the 26th of June he reappeared in the streets of the town, and putting his pipe to his lips began a soft and curious strain. This drew all the children after him and he led them out of the town to the Koppelberg hill, in the side of which a door suddenly opened, by which he entered and the children after him, all but one who was lame and could not follow fast enough to reach the door before it shut again. Some trace the origin of the legend to the Children's Crusade of 1211; others to an abduction of children; and others to a dancing mania which seized upon some of the young people of Hameln who left the town on a mad pilgrimage from which they never returned. For a considerable time the town dated its public documents from the event. The story is the subject of a poem by Robert Browning, and also of one by Julius Wolff. Curious evidence that the story rests on a basis of truth is given by the fact that the Koppelberg is not one of the imposing hills by which Hameln is surrounded, but no more than a slight elevation of the ground, barely high enough to hide the children from view as they left the town.

See C. Langlotz, _Geschichte der Stadt Hameln_ (Hameln, 1888 fol.); Sprenger, _Geschichte der Stadt Hameln_ (1861); O. Meinardus, _Der historische Kern der Rattenfangersage_ (Hameln, 1882); Jostes, _Der Rattenfanger von Hameln_ (Bonn, 1885); and S. Baring-Gould, _Curious Myths of the Middle Ages_ (1868).