Cost of living in German towns

Bibliographic data

Monograph

Identifikator:: 866449027

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-93831

Document type:: Monograph

Title:: Cost of living in German towns

Place of publication:: London

Publisher:: Stat. Off.

Year of publication:: 1908

Scope:: 1 Online-Ressource (LXI, 548 Seiten)

Collection:: Economics Books

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HAMBURG. 24& Few towns are so diverse in character as Hamburg, and no indication of its architectural features can be conveyed in general terms. The historic town covers a large area on the right bank of the river Elbe, comprising the Old Town to the east and the “ "New” Town (which, where not rebuilt, is yet very antiquated) to the west. Next in point of age are the parishes of St. Georg and St. Pauli, the latter adjoining the town of Altona. A large number of suburbs of various ages cluster round the crescent formed by the early settlements, each having its distinctive class of residents, and in the centre lies the Alster Lake, a noble sheet of water, lined by villa residences. Other notable villa quarters are Harvestehude, Uhlenhorst, Rotherbaum, Winterhude and Eppendorf, and to the north, far away from the Elbe, but within sight of the Alster, while the working classes live chiefly in the Old and New Towns, in the harbour districts, and in the outskirts lying to the east and south-east. A peculiarity of the lower region of the town near to the harbour are the narrow necks of water known as “ Fleeten,” running inland from the river and penetrating in all directions, so forming canals by which the conveyance of merchandise of certain kinds is greatly facilitated. These “Fleeten” are lined with warehouses and inhabited buildings, often rising to a height of five and six stories, and they belong to the most picturesque features of the town. Modern Hamburg is in the main built of brick faced with plaster, and in this respect is like most other German towns, but the traditional style of building was half-timber work, which from the eleventh century down to fifty years ago predominated, until the building bye-laws of 1865 discouraged it, on the ground of danger, in favour of fire-proof material. The newer parts of the town are well and substantially built. The best of buildings soon look old, however, owing to smoke and a humid atmosphere, and the general aspect of the purely business streets, some of which are too narrow for the traffic they have to accommodate, creates an impression of sombreness. On the other hand, the quieter and less congested residential districts are interspersed by lakes, gardens and parks. Altona, on the other hand, has none of Hamburg’s bustle and turmoil. Overshadowed commercially by the larger town, it pursues a quiet but prosperous life of its own. While it is without the slums of the Hamburg inner town, it also lacks Hamburg’s finer parts, though there are wide streets in the new districts, many open spaces, garden suburbs, and several fine public buildings. The barrack house is still the exception here, and even in the principal streets buildings of two stories are common. The municipality of Hamburg has hitherto made it a principle to refrain from competing with private enterprise so long as the public interest and con venience seemed to be properly safeguarded. Hence while the harbours are municipal (or State) property, the two tramway systems are in private hands, though the town receives 10 per cent, of the gross proceeds of the urban com- pany, equal to £55,000 per annum. The hilliness of the ground and the narrowness of many of the streets prevent any thorough intersection of the town, but the communication with Altona and the outskirts is excellent. The gas, electricity, and water services are also municipal ; the water supply is obtained by pumping from the Elbe. As will be explained later* the town owns no workmen’s dwellings, but it offers facilities to societies and individuals desirous of erecting small tenements at low rents, and it has expended over half a million pounds during recent years in clearing insanitary areas of the Old Town. It is a peculiarity of the two representative bodies by which Hamburg is governed that one-half of the 18 members of the Senate must have studied law or finance, while seven of the other nine must be merchants, and that of the 160 members of the House of Burgesses, 40 are elected by the property owners, while 40 are elected by present or past members of the Courts, administrative authorities, and the Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and the remaining 80 by all citizens paying income tax. Hamburg’s vitality statistics show steadily decreasing birth and death rates The birth-rate of the entire State declined as follows between 1896 and 1905 :— 1896, 35 1 per 1,000 of the population ; 1897, 34*1 ; 1898, 33T ; 1899, 31 6 ; 2 I 29038 Infra, “ Housing and Rents.”

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