Blankenese () is a suburban quarter in the borough of
Altona in the western part of
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
, Germany; until 1938 it was an independent municipality in
Holstein
Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...
. It is located on the right bank of the
Elbe
The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) 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 Repu ...
river. With a population of 13,637 as of 2020, today it is widely known as one of Hamburg's most affluent neighborhoods.
[
]
History
Blankenese has a long history as a fishing village along the Elbe River.
In 1060, Archbishop Adalbert
Adalbert is a German given name which means "noble bright" or "noble shining", derived from the words ''adal'' (meaning noble) and ''berht'' (shining or bright). Alternative spellings include Adelbart, Adelbert and Adalberto. Derivative names inclu ...
of Bremen
Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
built a provost's residence at the site of an older settlement at the hill Süllberg. Later the counts of Holstein
Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...
built a castle. Both were destroyed through Hamburg.Hamburger Abendblatt
The ''Hamburger Abendblatt'' (English: ''Hamburg Evening Newspaper'') is a German daily newspaper in Hamburg.
The paper focuses on news in Hamburg and area, and produces regional supplements with news from Norderstedt, Ahrensburg, Harburg, and ...
Blankenese - Wohnen am Hang
June 26, 2002, accessed August 11, 2008
Until 1927, Blankenese was an independent town in Holstein and then it was merged into the town Altona by law. In 1938 Altona was merged into Hamburg with the Greater Hamburg Act
The Greater Hamburg Act (german: Groß-Hamburg-Gesetz), in full the Law Regarding Greater Hamburg and Other Territorial Readjustments (german: Gesetz über Groß-Hamburg und andere Gebietsbereinigungen), was passed by the government of Nazi Germa ...
.
During World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the suburb held a Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
Officer Cadet camp, which became HQ 85 Group Signals for the Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
in 1945.
After the war, an orphanage operated in Blankenese, for children who were Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
survivors.
Origin of the name
Blankenese comes from the Low German ''blank ness'', meaning ''white promontory
A promontory is a raised mass of land that projects into a lowland or a body of water (in which case it is a peninsula). Most promontories either are formed from a hard ridge of rock that has resisted the erosive forces that have removed the so ...
'' in the Elbe river.
Geography
According to the 2006 records of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holsteins' statistical office, Blankenese comprises a total area of .
Blankenese is located south of Sülldorf
Sülldorf () is a quarter in the Altona borough of the Free and Hanseatic city of Hamburg in northern Germany. In 2020 the population was 9,474.
Geography
In 2006 according to the statistical office of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein, the quarter ...
, east of Rissen
Rissen () is a quarter of the city of Hamburg in Germany. It is located in the borough of Altona and is the westernmost quarter of Hamburg, bordering the German federal state of Schleswig-Holstein in the west, north, and northeast and the Elbe ri ...
and west of Nienstedten
Nienstedten () is a quarter in the city of Hamburg, Germany. It belongs to the Altona borough on the right bank of the Elbe river. Nienstedten is home to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. In 2020 the population was 7,114.
Geogra ...
. To the south is the widest point of the river Elbe
The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) 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 Repu ...
(2.8 km) which provides various tourist and recreational opportunities as well as a view of the Airbus
Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European Multinational corporation, multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace manufacturer, aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft througho ...
plant.
The views from the river-facing portions of Blankenese have resulted in highly desirable properties and expensive real estate prices. The steep hillside residences boast many tiny, pedestrian-only streets and 4,864 stairs. The Strandweg is home to the Strand Hotel, built in 1902, as well as several other cafes and restaurants. There are two lighthouses, a Roman garden, a doll museum and several parks and walking trails in Blankenese.
Parks
*Baur's Park
*Bismarckstein Park
*Gossler's Park
Gossler's Park (German: ''Goßlers Park'') is a public park in Blankenese in Hamburg. It is located north of ''Blankeneser Landstraße'' and near Blankenese station
Blankenese is a railway station on the Altona-Blankenese line, part of the Hambu ...
*Hessepark
*Hirschpark (Deer Park)
*Sven-Simon-Park
Politics
Anna-Elisabeth von Treuenfels-Frowein
Anna-Elisabeth von Treuenfels-Frowein ( née ''von der Decken''; born 13 May 1962) is a German politician from the Free Democratic Party. She represents Blankenese in the Hamburg Parliament
The Hamburg Parliament (german: Hamburgische Bürgersc ...
represents Blankenese in the Hamburg Parliament
The Hamburg Parliament (german: Hamburgische Bürgerschaft; literally “Hamburgish Citizenry”) is the unicameral legislature of the German state of Hamburg according to the constitution of Hamburg. As of 2011 there were 121 members in the parli ...
.
These are the results of Blankenese in the Hamburg state election:
Demographics
Facts of area
Inhabitants: 13,686
Of which under 18: 2532
About 65: 3758
Median income: 117,139 € / (2013)
Area: 7.7 km2
Number of day nurseries: 8
Number of schools: 1 primary school, 3 high schools, 1 district school
Residential building: 3424
Apartments: 6898
Established doctors: 111
Crime in 2018: recorded: 868, enlightened: 286
The population density was . Of the total population 10.2% were immigrants. 189 people were registered as unemployed. In 1999 there were 6,990 households, out of which 16.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 47.1% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 1.97.
Education
Number of schools: 1 primary school, 3 high schools, 1 district school. There are 4 elementary schools and 4 secondary schools: ''Marion Dönhoff Gymnasium'', ''Gymnasium Blankenese'', ''Bugenhagenschule am Hessepark'' and ''Gesamtschule
A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is res ...
Blankenese''.
Sports
Since 1997 the cycling world elite annually drives through Blankenese on the course of the EuroEyes Cyclassics
The Hamburg Cyclassics (currently known as the Bemer Cyclassics for sponsorship purposes) is an annual one-day professional and amateur cycling race in and around Hamburg, Germany. Although the route varies, its distance is always around 250  ...
(until 2005 ''HEW Cyclassics'', until 2015 ''Vattenfall Cyclassics''), the only German World Tour race. The streets of Blankenese are usually included in the course several times, as the drivers have to go across the notorious hill of Waseberg
The Waseberg in Blankenese, Hamburg, Germany is with a height of the third highest peak of the city and the second highest of the quarter of Blankenese (behind Baursberg). It is part of a ridge on the north bank of the river Elbe.
The hill gain ...
, which is also located in the quarter, three times. It is the main difficulty within the race.
The football clubs of SV Blankenese (founded in 1903) and FTSV Komet Blankenese (founded 1907) have a long tradition in the quarter.
Infrastructure
A local office of the main district office Altona called Customer Centre Blankenese is located at ''Erik Blumenfeld Platz''.[''Mit Hamburg verbunden 2007/2008'' a reference book by the government agency of finance ]
The local quarter court ''Amtsgericht Hamburg-Blankenese'' is located at ''Dormienstrasse''.
The Honorary Consulate of the Kingdom of Morocco (Al Mamlakah al Maghribiyah) established in Hamburg in 1960 is located on the street ''In de Bargen''.
Commerce
Blankeneser Landstrasse and Blankenese Bahnhofstrasse form the main intersection of commercial activities in Bankenese. While the shops, banks and post office are open normal business hours from Monday through Saturday, the popular public farmer's market is only available on Tuesday, Friday & Saturday.
Health systems
The hospital ''Tabea GmbH'', located at ''Kösterbergstrasse'', has 32 beds and specializes on hip and knee surgery and varicose vein
Varicose veins, also known as varicoses, are a medical condition in which superficial veins become enlarged and twisted. These veins typically develop in the legs, just under the skin. Varicose veins usually cause few symptoms. However, some indiv ...
surgery.
There are 73 physicians in private practice and 5 pharmacies.
Transportation
Blankenese is serviced by the rapid transit
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...
system of the S-Bahn
The S-Bahn is the name of hybrid urban- suburban rail systems serving a metropolitan region in German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit systems, while smaller ones often resemble co ...
with the Blankenese station
Blankenese is a railway station on the Altona-Blankenese line, part of the Hamburg S-Bahn, located in the suburb of Blankenese in the borough of Altona, Hamburg, Germany. The station opened in 1867, and is a heritage site.
It is a terminus, tra ...
and several buses of the public transport organisation. According to the Department of Motor Vehicles (Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt), there were 6,333 private cars registered (486 cars/1000 people).[Source: statistical office Nord of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein (2006)]
In summer 2008, the main train station in Blankenese has been completely rebuilt.
Blankenese's waterfront is serviced many times a day by various water shuttles. There are many buoys in the river to help guide all sizes of watercraft, since this part of the river has many shoals and is tidal.
Lighthouses
As of July 2020 there are four lighthouses, the old and new Blankenese Low Lighthouse, with a height of 42 m and 3 Platform decks for visitors at ''Strandweg'' and with a height of 32 m with similar Platform near Ferry Restaurants, and 40 m high Blankenese High Lighthouse at ''Bauerspark'' and a 62.25 m high one at a boat marina. Both pairs form a line together to Elbe River for incoming ships. The two new lighthouses were erected in summer 2020 because of an extension of the river bed. The two old lighthouses are supposed to be demolished in autumn 2020.
Waterworks
On the hill of Baursberg
The Baursberg has a height of and is therefore the largest hill in the quarter of Blankenese, Hamburg, Germany and the second largest of the city (behind Hasselbrack). It is part of the high shore of Blankenese. On top of it the Waterworks Baursbe ...
the waterworks of the same name is located since 1859, supplying the western suburbs of Hamburg and also the nearby town of Schenefeld.
Wrecks
The hulls of the following two sunken vessels are located outside the main international shipping strait. They had been earmarked for removal as they may pose a hazard to recreational marine traffic. However they afford scenic views and are popular with the locals, hence were allowed to remain there:
''Polstjernan''
The remains of the four-masted Finnish powered schooner
A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...
''Polstjernan'' (Polar Star), which caught fire on 20.10.1926 in today's Kiel Canal
The Kiel Canal (german: Nord-Ostsee-Kanal, literally "North- oEast alticSea canal", formerly known as the ) is a long freshwater canal in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. The canal was finished in 1895, but later widened, and links the N ...
and was towed away by the Blankenese-based salvage company Harmstorf. Location: By the bank called Falkensteiner Ufer, house no. 26. UTM coordinates: 5934830.59 N, 552083.28 E The wreck can be reached at low tide without getting your feet wet. Its cargo of wood caught fire when an engine exploded while passing Kaiser Wilhelm Canal (today's Kiel Canal). She was then, a few days later, towed to ''Blankenese'', where she was temporarily moored. Her insurers disputed responsibility for the wreck and it remained lying there ever since. As the wreck tended to float in flood conditions it was weighted down with scrap metal from submarine parts after World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and has since been used as a breakwater
Breakwater may refer to:
* Breakwater (structure), a structure for protecting a beach or harbour
Places
* Breakwater, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia
* Breakwater Island
Breakwater Island () is a small island in the Palme ...
.
''Uwe''
A few meters from the Polstjernan lies what is left of the barge
Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...
''Uwe'', sunk there in 1975 after colliding against the coaster ''Wiedau''. The ''Uwe'' was torn into pieces and while most of these chunks had eventually been towed into the harbor, it became apparent its stern
The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Ori ...
was too heavy, and was left between the ''Polstjernan'' and the Lighthouse of Blankenese, where it remains to this day.
Notable people
* Rudolph Crasemann
* Johann Cesar VI. Godeffroy
Johann Cesar Godeffroy (7 July 1813 in Kiel – 9 February 1885 in Blankenese) was a German trader, blackbirder and Hanseat.
He was the founder of Museum Godeffroy.
Family history and the trading company J.C. Godeffroy & Sohn
The Godeffroys ...
* Carl Gottfried Eybe
__NOTOC__
Carl Gottfried Eybe (1813–1893) was a 19th-century German painter, lithographer and sculptor.
''Deuts ...
(1813–1893), painter; lived and died at Blankenese"Eybe, Karl Gottfried"
''Deutsche Biographie''. Retrieved 3 January 2020
*
Karen Horney
Karen Horney (; ; 16 September 1885 – 4 December 1952) was a German psychoanalyst who practised in the United States during her later career. Her theories questioned some traditional Freudian views. This was particularly true of her theories of ...
Web presence
Blankense has its own website which posts recent pictures and news events for its residents.
Additionally, one can view live webcam feeds from up and down the Elbe River, starting with the harbor all the way to Cuxhaven. These webcams allow virtual visitors of Blankenese to watch the many commercial container and pleasure ships travel up and down the Elbe in real time.
International relations
Twin towns – Sister cities
Blankenese is
twinned with:
*
Gladsaxe
Gladsaxe Kommune is a municipality (Danish, ''Commune (subnational entity), kommune'') near Copenhagen in Region Hovedstaden on the island of Zealand (Denmark), Zealand (''Sjælland'') in eastern Denmark. The municipality covers an area of , and ...
,
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
(since 1962)
Notes
References
Statistical office Hamburg and Schleswig-HolsteinStatistisches Amt für Hamburg und Schleswig-Holstein, official website
External links
*
Hamburg-Wedel-Blankenese-Elbe-Web-Cams-- webcam : Blankenese Westen + Blankenese Süden
{{Authority control
Quarters of Hamburg
Altona, Hamburg