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  convenience ­
  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  company,
  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.”