History

Hamburg was founded in by the Carolingians as a military and religious center in the 9th century. The city provided an important military base from which to repel Scandinavian and Saxon invaders. The original name of the city was Hammaburg, and the original site of the first settlement is located in the area which makes up Hamburg's city center. In the 12th century, Count Adolf III received a royal charter from the Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa. This charter gave specific trade rights to Hamburg and eliminated the payment of any customs. This charter turned Hamburg into one of the great trading cities of Northern Europe.

Disaster stuck the city in 1842 when a fire ravaged over a third of the city. Quickly rebuilding, the population of the city grew to over a million by the early 1900's. Unfortunately both WWI and WWII devastated the city again. The bombing in WWII for instance destroyed major portions of the city.

The people of Hamburg have always been known for their resilience and in the period following WWII rebuilt the city to its former glory.

Today Hamburg is Germany's second largest city and one of Europe's most important ports.

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