HAMBURG, ham'berg (Ger. Germany, one of the constituent states of the empire, officially named Freie and Hanse Stadt Hamburg. Its area is 157.18 square miles, of which 30 square miles are comprised in the city of Hamburg. The greater portion lies on the lower Elbe between Schleswig-Holstein on the north and Hanover on the south. It is divided into five parts — the metropolitan dis trict and four demains, viz., the Geestlande, Bergedorf, Marschlande and Ritzebiittel, with Cuxhaven. It includes also several islands in the Elbe, Moorburg (within Hanover) and other small enclaves within Hanover, and the island of Neuwerk in the North Sea. Under its constitution the state of Hamburg is a re public. The present constitution came into force in 1861; revised in 1879 and 1906. The government is entrusted, in common, to two chambers of representatives, the Senate and the Biirgerschaft, or House of Burgesses. The Senate, which exercises chiefly, but not entirely, the executive power, is composed of 18 mem bers, one-half of whom must have studied law or finance, while seven of the remainder must be merchants. The members of the Senate are elected for life by the House of Burgesses; but a senator may retire at the end of six years. A first and second burgomaster, chosen annually by ballot, preside at the sessions of the Senate. No burgomaster can be in office longer than two years, and no member of the Senate may hold any other public office. The Biirgerschaft consists of 160 members, 80 of whom are elected by ballot by all tax-paying citizens. Of the remainder, 40 are chosen by ballot, by the owners of house property, while the other 40 are chosen by ballot by burgesses who are or have been members of the Senate or of the House of Burgesses or members of various guilds, corporations or courts of jus tice. All members of the lower house are chosen for six years, in such a manner that every three years new elections take place for one-half the number. In all matters of legis lation, except taxation, the Senate has a veto; and, in case of a constitutional conflict, recourse is had to an assembly of arbitrators, chosen from both houses; also to the Supreme Court of the empire at Leipzig. The jurisdiction of the Free Port was restricted on 1 Jan. 1882 to the city and port and in 1888 the whole of the city except the actual port and the warehouses con nected with it was incorporated in the Zoll verein. A small area at Cuxhaven is still out side the Zollverein. For 1915 the ordinary revenue was $41,106,480 and expenditure, 534,300. For 1918 the budget estimated revenue is placed at $49,475,510 and expenditure at $60,451.125. Direct taxes amount to nearly half
the whole revenue, and next to that the pro ceeds of domains, quays, railways, etc. Expend iture for the debt totaled $16,971,625 in 1918 and for education, $7,017,150 was spent in 1915, but only $3,964,763 in 1917. The public debt on 1 Jan. 1914 was $210,560,355. The population in 1880 was 453,869 and on 1 Dec. 1910 was 1,014,664. In 1912 the four domains outside the city had a population of ii,610 and the city 986,804. In 1910 there were 28,675 foreigners; also there were 930,071 Protestants (91.66 per cent), 51,036 Roman Catholics (5.03 per cent), 3,942 other Christians (0.39 per cent), 19,472 Jews (1.92 per cent) and 10,143 of other persuasions (1.00 per cent). In 1913 there were 249 public elementary schools with 3,911 teach ers and 122,364 pupils; 20 higher state schools with 12,155 pupils and 78 private schools with 20,096 pupils. Theprincipal towns of the state outside the city of Hamburg are Bergedorf (14,907), Cuxhaven (14,888) and Ritzebiittel (3,140).
The city was founded by Charlemagne, who, between 808 and 811, built a citadel and a church on the heights between the Elbe and the east bank of the Alster as a bulwark against the neighboring pagan Slays. In 831 it became an episcopal see. It was frequently devastated by Danes and Slays, but in the 12th century had become an important commercial city, and in 1241 and 1249 combined with Liibeck and Bremen in forming the Hanseatic League. It was declared an imperial city by Maximilian in 1510, but was not formally acknowledged until 1618. During the Thirty Years' War its popu lation and prosperity increased owing to the immunity of its position, and in the following century extensive commercial relations with North America were developed. In 1810 it was incorporated in the French Empire as the capital of the department of the Mouths of the Elbe, but was occupied by the Russians in 1813. They were driven out by the French under Davoust, two months later, and the city underwent severe financial spoliation at the hands of the conqueror and extensive depopu lation. In 1815 it became an independent state of the German federation, forming with Liibeck, Bremen and Frankfort, the curia of the free cities. Its trade and importance have increased ever since. In 1871 it united with the German Empire as a free city-state; but did not join the Zollverein or German Customs Union until 1888. Consult the works referred to under the city of Hamburg.