Bergedorf () is the largest of the seven

boroughs A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, named after Bergedorf quarter within this borough. In 2020 the population of the borough was 130,994.

History

The city of Bergedorf received

town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...

in 1275, then a part of the younger

Duchy of Saxony The Duchy of Saxony () was originally the area settled by the Saxons in the late Early Middle Ages, when they were subdued by Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars from 772 CE and incorporated into the Carolingian Empire (Francia) by 804. Upon the 84 ...

(1180–1296), which was partitioned by its four co-ruling dukes in 1296 into the branch duchies of

Saxe-Lauenburg The Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg (, ), was a ''reichsfrei'' duchy that existed from 1296 to 1803 and again from 1814 to 1876 in the extreme southeast region of what is now Schleswig-Holstein. Its territorial centre was in the modern district of Herz ...

and

Saxe-Wittenberg The Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg () was a medieval duchy of the Holy Roman Empire centered at Wittenberg, which emerged after the dissolution of the stem duchy of Saxony. The Ascanian dukes prevailed in obtaining the Saxon electoral dignity until ...

. Bergedorf then became part of the former. This was only to last until 1303, when Lauenburg's three co-ruling dukes, Albert III, Eric I, and John II partitioned their branch duchy into three smaller duchies. Eric then held Bergedorf ( Vierlande) and Lauenburg and inherited the share of his childless brother Albert III, Saxe-Ratzeburg, after he was already deceased in 1308 and a retained section from Albert's widow Margaret of Brandenburg-Salzwedel on her death. However, his other brother, John II, then claimed a part, so in 1321 Eric conceded Bergedorf (with Vierlande) to him, whose share thus became known thereafter as Saxe-Bergedorf-Mölln while Eric's was known as Saxe-Ratzeburg-Lauenburg. In 1370, John's fourth successor Eric III pawned the

Herrschaft The German term ''Herrschaft'' (plural: ''Herrschaften'') covers a broad semantic field and only the context will tell whether it means, "rule", "power", "dominion", "authority", "territory" or "lordship". In its most abstract sense, it refers ...

of Bergedorf, the Vierlande, half the Saxon Wood and

Geesthacht Geesthacht () is the largest city in the Lauenburg (district), District of the Duchy of Lauenburg (Herzogtum Lauenburg) in Schleswig-Holstein in Northern Germany, south-east of Hamburg on the right bank of the Elbe, River Elbe. History A church ...

Lübeck Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...

in return for a credit of 16,262.5 Lübeck

marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks A collective trademark, collective trade mark, or collective mark is a trademark owned by an organization (such ...

. This acquisition included much of the trade route between

and Lübeck, thus providing a safe passage for freight between the cities. Eric III only retained a life tenancy. The city of Lübeck and Eric III further stipulated, that upon his death, Lübeck would be entitled to take possession of the pawned areas until his successors repaid the credit and simultaneously exercised the repurchase of Mölln (contracted in 1359), altogether amounting to the then enormous sum of 26,000 Lübeck Marks. In 1401, Eric III died without issue and was succeeded by his second cousin Eric IV of Saxe-Ratzeburg-Lauenburg. In the same year, Eric IV, supported by his sons Eric (later ruling as Eric V) and

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, forcefully captured the pawned areas without making any repayment, before Lübeck could take possession of them. Lübeck acquiesced for the time being.Elisabeth Raiser, ''Städtische Territorialpolitik im Mittelalter: eine vergleichende Untersuchung ihrer verschiedenen Formen am Beispiel Lübecks und Zürichs'', Lübeck and Hamburg: Matthiesen, 1969, (Historische Studien; 406), p. 137, simultaneously: Hamburg, Univ., Diss., 1969. In 1420, Eric V attacked Prince-Elector Frederick I of Brandenburg and Lübeck allied with Hamburg in support of

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

. Armies of both cities opened a second front and conquered Bergedorf, Riepenburg castle and the Esslingen river toll station (today's Zollenspieker Ferry) within weeks. This forced Eric V to agree with Hamburg's burgomaster Hein Hoyer and

Burgomaster Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, ) is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief magistrate or executive of a city or town. The name in English was derived from the Dutch . In so ...

Jordan Pleskow of Lübeck to the Peace of Perleberg on 23 August 1420, which stipulated that all the pawned areas, which Eric IV, Eric V and John IV had violently taken in 1401, were to be irrevocably ceded to the cities of Hamburg and Lübeck.

Hamburg-Lübeck Condominium

The cities transformed the acquired areas into the "Beiderstädtischer Besitz" (bi-urban

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership regime in which a building (or group of buildings) is divided into multiple units that are either each separately owned, or owned in common with exclusive rights of occupation by individual own ...

; cooperatively governed possession), ruled by bailiffs in four year terms, alternately staffed by one of the cities. In 1446 the bailiffs' terms were increased to six years, and in 1620 to life terms. In 1542 bailiff Ditmar Koel introduced the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

in the co-governed municipalities. The area was formally annexed to the

First French Empire The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...

as part of Bouches de l'Elbe département between 1811 and 1813. Thereafter, the area was restored to Hamburg and Lübeck, both sovereign states. The first railway in

Northern Germany Northern Germany (, ) is a linguistic, geographic, socio-cultural and historic region in the northern part of Germany which includes the coastal states of Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Lower Saxony and the two city-states Hambur ...

was opened between Hamburg and Bergedorf by the Hamburg-Bergedorf Railway Company in 1842. In the 1860s the Condominium issued its own postage stamps. In 1863 the condominium measured 1039,99 million square Hamburg foot (1 Hamburg foot =286,57 mm), of which 947,34 million sqft were Bergedorf city and the four Vierlande municipalities ( Altengamme, Curslack, Kirchwerder and Neuengamme) and 92,65 million sqft of

(since 1937 no part of today's borough of Bergdorf anymore).''Statistik des Hamburgischen(Bro) Staats'', Statistisches Bureau der Deputation für directe Steuern (ed.), 'Heft I. Ergebnisse der Volkszählung vom 3^ten December 1866 - Stand der Bevölkerung', Hamburg: Kümpel, 1867
p. 1

Hamburg rural seigniory

Effective of 1 January 1868 Lübeck sold its share in the bi-urban condominium to the

Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and 7th-largest in the European Union with a population of over 1.9 million. The Hamburg Metropolitan Region has a ...

for 200,000

Prussian thaler The Prussian Thaler (sometimes Prussian Reichsthaler) was the currency of Prussia until 1857. In 1750, Johann Philipp Graumann implemented the ''Graumannscher Fuß'' with 14 thalers issued to a Cologne Mark of fine silver, or 16.704 g per thaler ...

. Hamburg integrated the area into its state territory, forming there the ''Landherrenschaft Bergedorf'' (i.e. Bergedorf rural

seigniory In English law, seignory or seigniory, spelled ''signiory'' in Early Modern English (; ; ), is the lordship (authority) remaining to a grantor after the grant of an estate in fee simple. '' Nulle terre sans seigneur'' ("No land without a lord") ...

) comprising the cities of Bergedorf and

and a number of rural municipalities not integrated into the city of Hamburg proper. By the

Greater Hamburg Act The Greater Hamburg Act (), in full the Law Regarding Greater Hamburg and Other Territorial Readjustments (), was passed by the government of Nazi Germany on 26 January 1937, and mandated the exchange of territories between Hamburg and the Free S ...

of 1937 the

exclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...

of Geesthacht was ceded to

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

Bergedorf Borough of Hamburg

On 1 April 1938 Bergedorf city and the other municipalities became the ''Borough of Bergedorf'', an integrated part of the city of Hamburg. Bergedorf is also known by its nickname ''Garden of Hamburg''.

Geography

Located in the south-east of the city, the borough of Bergedorf comprises the districts of Allermöhe, Altengamme, Bergedorf,

Billwerder Billwerder () is a quarter of Hamburg, Germany, in the borough of Bergedorf. It is located on the northwestern border of the borough adjacent to the borough of Hamburg-Mitte. At the same time Billwerder means a greater area south of the river ...

, Curslack, Kirchwerder, Lohbrügge,

Moorfleet Moorfleet () is a quarter of Hamburg, Germany, in the borough of Bergedorf. It is located in the west of the borough. Geography Moorfleet is a part of the Marschlande and is located at the Dove Elbe river. The quarter is not highly populated and ...

, Neuallermöhe (new district since January 2011), Neuengamme, Ochsenwerder, Reitbrook, Spadenland and Tatenberg. In 2017 the city of Hamburg started planning the new quarter Oberbillwerder which is located in today's

. In 2006, according to the statistical office of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein, the borough of Bergedorf has a total area of . Today's quarter is the old citBergedorf, located on the river Bille, a right tributary of the

Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...

Demographics

In 2006, 118,942 people were living in Bergedorf borough. The population density was . 19.3% were children under the age of 18, and 18.2% were 65 years of age or older. 9.6% were immigrants. 6,027 people were registered as unemployed.Residents registration office, source: statistical office Nord of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein (2006) In 1999 there were 51,752 households and 34.6% of all households were made up of individuals.Source: statistical office Nord of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein (1999) According to the Department of Motor Vehicles (Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt), there were 48,003 private cars registered (406 cars/1000 people) in the borough of Bergedorf.Source: statistical office Nord of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein (2006) There were 22 elementary schools, 16 secondary schools, 184 physicians in private practice, and 23 pharmacies in the borough of Bergedorf. These numbers include the Bergedorf quarter.

Assembly of the borough

The ''Bezirksversammlung'' is elected as representatives of the citizens, simultaneously with elections to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

. It consists of 45 representatives.

Elections

, - ! colspan="2" style="text-align:left;" , Parties ! % ! ± ! Seats , - , style="background-color:" , , style="text-align:left;" , Christian Democratic Union , 28.6 , 4.3 , style="text-align:center;" , 13 , - , style="background-color:" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

, 26.6 , 0.2 , style="text-align:center;" , 12 , - , style="background-color:" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

Alliance 90/The Greens Alliance 90/The Greens (, ), often simply referred to as Greens (, ), is a Green (politics), green political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of the Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (formed in East Ger ...

, 14.6 , 7.3 , style="text-align:center;" , 7 , - , style="background-color:" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (, AfD, ) is a Far-right politics in Germany (1945–present), far-right,Far-right: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative p ...

, 14.4 , 5.9 , style="text-align:center;" , 7 , - , style="background-color:" , , style="text-align:left;" , The Left , 8.2 , 2.3 , style="text-align:center;" , 4 , - , style="background-color:" , , style="text-align:left;" , Free Democratic Party , 4.7 , 0.8 , style="text-align:center;" , 2 , - , style="background-color:#0085FF" , , style="text-align:left;" ,

Free Voters Free Voters (, FW) is a political party in Germany. It originates as an umbrella organisation of several Free Voters Associations (), associations of people which participate in an election without having the status of a registered party. These a ...

, 2.9 , ± 0.0 , style="text-align:center;" , 0 , - ! colspan="2" style="text-align:left;" , Total ! style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", ! style="text-align:center;" , 45

Postage stamps

The Bi-Urban Condominium ( see above), or Bergedorf, respectively, its capital and the seat of its postal service ''Beiderstädtische Post'' (Bi-Urban Mail), founded on 1 April 1847, is of note to

philatelist Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. While closely associated with stamp collecting and the study of postage, it is possible ...

s because it issued its own

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail). Then the stamp is affixed to the f ...

s between 1861 and 1867. According to the census of March 1863 the Bi-Urban Condominium had a population of 12,468 souls, of which 2,957 lived in Bergedorf city (the rest lived in the other five municipalities of the condominium), making it by far the German territory with the smallest population to issue stamps. The issue included 5 square stamps with denominations from ½ to 4 schillings. All used the same design - a combined

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

of the Free Cities of Lübeck and

(the two city states which were the sovereign lords over the Bi-Urban Condominium) - but the higher values were larger stamps. All values were printed in black on different coloured papers, except for the 3s stamp, which was printed in blue on pink paper. With Lübeck's sale of its share in the condominium to Hamburg in 1867 the territory was integrated into the adjacent city state of Hamburg as the ''Rural Seigniory of Bergedorf'' and the separate Bi-Urban Mail became part of Hamburg's postal service without any more separate stamps. Hamburg, including its Rural Seigniory of Bergedorf began using stamps of the

North German Confederation The North German Confederation () was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was transformed in the subsequent year into a confederated state (a ''de facto'' feder ...

in 1868. Since the Bi-Urban Condominium had such a small population, relatively few of these stamps were made, and even fewer used; the price of unused stamps is from US$30–$50, while genuinely used stamps go for US$300–$2,000. Reprints, forgeries, and especially faked cancellations are quite common.

Notable structures

Stolpersteine Bergedorf Dr Naftali Lewensohnx600

* Church "St. Petri and Pauli" * Fernmeldeturm Hamburg-Bergedorf * Transmitter Hamburg-Billstedt * Hamburger Sternwarte also called Hamburg-Bergedorf Observatory * Schloss Bergedorf

Notable people

* Ida Boy-Ed (1852–1928), writer *

Johann Adolph Hasse Johann Adolph Hasse (baptised 25 March 1699 – 16 December 1783) was an 18th-century German composer, singer and teacher of music. Immensely popular in his time, Hasse was best known for his prolific operatic output, though he also composed a co ...

, (1699–1783), composer * Alfred Lichtwark (1852–1914), director of the ''Hamburger Kunsthalle'' * Ferdinand Pfohl (1862–1949), music critic, music writer and composer * Jack Pferdeschwanz (1996), entertainer, curling player * Hubert Blaine Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff Sr (1914-1997), person with the longest name in history

References

;General sources
Statistisches Amt für Hamburg und Schleswig-Holstein, official website
(in German)

Bibliography

* Harald Richert: ''Bergedorf - eine selbständige Stadt''. In: '' Lichtwark'' Nr. 54. Hrsg. Lichtwark-Ausschuß, Bergedorf, 1991. Jetzt: Verlag HB-Werbung, Hamburg-Bergedorf. .

External links

Bergedorf homepage (in German)

Bergedorf Round Table of the Koerber Foundation

privat Bergedorf Citypage (in German)
{{Authority control Boroughs of Hamburg