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111-616: The organization has its headquarters in Hamburg and maintains an international relations department in Berlin . Since the death of the company founder in 1992, it is the sole shareholder of Körber AG . Chaired by former German president Richard von Weizsäcker , the Bergedorf Round Table is a confidential, two-day gathering with around thirty participants that is held three times a year. Since 1961 it has promoted international dialogue between

222-544: A firestorm which spread from the Hauptbahnhof (main railway station) and quickly moved south-east, completely destroying entire boroughs such as Hammerbrook , Billbrook and Hamm South . Thousands of people perished in these densely populated working class boroughs. The raids, codenamed Operation Gomorrah by the RAF , killed at least 42,600 civilians; the precise number is not known. About one million civilians were evacuated in

333-516: A President, you can form a government." (endorsing parties) (percentage) (endorsing parties) (percentage) ( FDP , CDU , CSU ) The office of president is open to all Germans who are entitled to vote in Bundestag elections and have reached the age of 40, but no one may serve more than two consecutive five-year terms. As yet (2022), only five presidents (Heuss, Lübke, von Weizsäcker, Köhler and Steinmeier (in office)) have been elected for

444-550: A bill is not technically a final veto. As of 2023, this has happened only nine times and no president has done it more often than two times during their term: Karl Carstens , Roman Herzog , Johannes Rau , Christian Wulff , and Joachim Gauck have signed and promulgated all bills during their respective terms. The president represents Germany in the world (Art. 59 Basic Law), undertakes foreign visits, and receives foreign dignitaries. They also conclude treaties with foreign nations (which do not come into effect until affirmed by

555-459: A chancellor and ministers to remain in office after the end of a chancellor's term until a successor is elected; or exercises his right to pardon on behalf of the federation - as these are exclusive powers of the president. Therefore, the president also receives the chancellor regularly for talks on current policy issues. German presidents also hold talks with individual federal ministers and other senior officials at their own discretion. The "Head of

666-612: A contract between Henry III and Hamburg's traders allowed them to establish a hanse in London. This was the first time in history that the word hanse was used for the trading guild of the Hanseatic League . In 1270, the solicitor of the senate of Hamburg , Jordan von Boitzenburg , wrote the first description of civil, criminal and procedural law for a city in Germany in the German language,

777-617: A district in Hamburg called the Portugiesenviertel  [ de ] (Portuguese quarter) where many Portuguese people settled and which has a variety of Portuguese restaurants, cafes and shops that attract many tourists. There are several statues, squares and streets in Hamburg that are named after Portuguese historical figures. These include the Vasco da Gama statue on the Kornhaus bridge, which

888-548: A figure of about 143,200 Muslim migrants in Hamburg, making up 8.4% percent of the population. As of 2021 , there were more than 50 mosques in the city, including the Ahmadiyya run Fazle Omar Mosque , which is the oldest in the city, and which hosts the Islamic Centre Hamburg . A Jewish community also exists. As of 2022, around 2,500 Jews live in Hamburg. The city of Hamburg is one of 16 German states , therefore

999-717: A group of young foreign policy professionals from the German Bundestag , the Federal Chancellery, the Federal Foreign Office, the Ministry of Defence and selected foreign embassies in Berlin. The Network's members, who are invited on the basis of personal recommendations, explore challenges facing European foreign policy. Once a month, they speak in confidential discussions with foreign politicians and advisors over dinner at

1110-404: A memory researcher and a photographer who facilitated the process. The resulting multimedia zine reflects the participants' "personal journeys through the material enmeshment of the socialist past in a quest of highlighting its ambivalence and complexity". Political Breakfasts in Berlin are high-level and confidential background discussions which seek to help cultivate foreign policy discourse in

1221-474: A new influx from the migrant crisis. There is an area in Hamburg behind the central station where many Afghan restaurants and shops are located. Many carpet businesses in Speicherstadt are operated by Afghan traders, with Hamburg still a global leader in the trade of oriental rugs. Hamburg residents with a foreign citizenship as of 31 December 2016 is as follows: As elsewhere in Germany, Standard German

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1332-471: A person is elected with a majority on this ballot, the President is once again obliged to appoint them. If there is no majority, the President has seven days to either appoint the person who received a plurality of votes on the final ballot or dissolve the Bundestag. The chancellor may only be removed if the Bundestag passes a constructive vote of no confidence , indicating that a prospective new chancellor has

1443-615: A population of over 5.1 million and is the eighth-largest metropolitan region by GDP in the European Union. At the southern tip of the Jutland Peninsula , Hamburg stands on the branching River Elbe at the head of a 110 km (68 mi) estuary to the North Sea , on the mouth of the Alster and Bille . Hamburg is one of Germany's three city-states alongside Berlin and Bremen , and

1554-466: A president is re-elected for a second consecutive term, he does not take the oath again. The president is involved in the formation of the Federal Government and remains in close cooperation with it. Basically, the president is free to act on his own discretion. However, according to Article 58 of the German constitution, the decrees, and directives of the president require the countersignature of

1665-572: A president's term. The body is convened and chaired by the President of the Bundestag . From 1979 to 2009, all these conventions were held on 23 May, the anniversary of the foundation of the Federal Republic in 1949. The resignation of Horst Köhler in 2010, which necessitated an early meeting of the Federal Convention, brought this tradition to an end. In the first two rounds of the election,

1776-508: A proposed federal minister, as no president has ever done so. The constitution places no restrictions on who may be chancellor. In practice, the president only proposes a person as chancellor who has previously garnered a majority support in prior coalition talks and traditionally does not interfere in those talks. However, after the " Jamaica coalition " talks failed in the wake of the 2017 election , President Steinmeier invited several Bundestag party leaders to try to bring them together to form

1887-462: A second term and only two of them (Heuss and von Weizsäcker) completed those terms, while Lübke and Köhler resigned during their second term. The president must not be a member of the federal government or of a legislature at either the federal or state level. After taking office the president must take the following oath, stipulated by Article 56 of the Basic Law, in a joint session of the Bundestag and

1998-466: A town of around 500 inhabitants. In 1030, King Mieszko II Lambert of Poland burned down the city. Valdemar II of Denmark raided and occupied Hamburg in 1201 and in 1214. The Black Death killed at least 60% of the population in 1350. Hamburg experienced several great fires in the medieval period. In 1189, by imperial charter, Frederick I "Barbarossa" granted Hamburg the status of a Free Imperial City and tax-free access (or free-trade zone ) up

2109-462: A whole category of offenses. That requires a law enacted by the Bundestag in conjunction with the Bundesrat. Due to the federal structure of Germany the federal president is only responsible for dealing with certain criminal matters (e.g. espionage and terrorism) and disciplinary proceedings against federal civil servants, federal judges, and soldiers". It is customary that the federal president becomes

2220-472: A working government. The president appoints federal judges, federal civil servants, and military officers. Unlike the head of state in Westminster system parliamentary democracies, the President does not have the reserve power to unilaterally dissolve the Bundestag. The Bundestag also does not have the power to dissolve itself. Dissolution by the President can only occur in two scenarios caused by action of

2331-413: A year or more. According to article 81 of the German constitution, the president can declare a "Legislation Emergency" and allow the federal government and the Bundesrat to enact laws without the approval of the Bundestag. They also have important decisive power regarding the appointment of a chancellor who was elected by plurality only, or the dissolution of the Bundestag under certain circumstances. It

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2442-617: A year, the Körber Dialogue Middle East provides a platform for multilateral discussions on topical issues of foreign and security policy in the Middle East. Around ten foreign policy experts from the EU, the US and the Middle East hold discussions and formulate policy recommendations. The inclusion of Iranian representatives into these discussions is given particular importance. The conference venue

2553-569: Is a major international and domestic tourist destination . The Speicherstadt and Kontorhausviertel were declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO in 2015. Hamburg's rivers and canals are crossed by around 2,500 bridges, making it the city with the highest number of bridges in Europe, and with 5 of the world's 29 tallest churches standing in Hamburg , it is also the city with the highest number of churches surpassing 100 metres (330 ft) worldwide. Aside from its rich architectural heritage,

2664-499: Is also a major European science, research, and education hub , with several universities and institutions, including the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron Laboratory DESY . The city enjoys a very high quality of living, being ranked 19th in the 2019 Mercer Quality of Living Survey. Hamburg hosts specialists in world economics and international law, including consular and diplomatic missions such as

2775-417: Is also theoretically possible, albeit a drastic step which has not happened since 1949, that the president refuses to sign legislation merely because they disagree with its content, thus vetoing it, or refuse to approve a cabinet appointment. In all cases in which a bill was not signed by the federal president, all presidents have claimed that the bill in question was manifestly unconstitutional. For example, in

2886-589: Is at a sheltered natural harbour on the southern fanning-out of the Jutland Peninsula , between Continental Europe to the south and Scandinavia to the north, with the North Sea to the west and the Baltic Sea to the northeast. It is on the River Elbe at its confluence with the Alster and Bille . The city centre is around the Binnenalster ("Inner Alster") and Außenalster ("Outer Alster"), both formed by damming

2997-607: Is currently serving his second five-year-term, which began on 19 March 2022. Under the 1949 constitution (Basic Law) Germany has a parliamentary system of government in which the chancellor (similar to a prime minister or minister-president in other parliamentary democracies) is the head of government. The president has a ceremonial role as figurehead , but also has the right and duty to act politically. They can give direction to general political and societal debates and have some important " reserve powers " in case of political instability (such as those provided for by Article 81 of

3108-476: Is either Istanbul or Berlin. The EUSTORY History Campus constitutes a platform for young participants from Europe and its adjacent neighborhood interested in engaging in an informed and critical dialogue with peers on questions of history. The platform features a public section that comprises short articles and essays pertaining to European history and culture. In addition to this, the platform also offers seminars and workshops focusing on specific themes. In 2021, at

3219-559: Is elected for a term of five years by secret ballot, without debate, by a specially convened Federal Convention which mirrors the aggregated majority position in the Bundestag (the federal parliament) and in the parliaments of the 16 German states . The convention consists of all Bundestag members, as well as an equal number of electors elected by the state legislatures in proportion to their respective populations. Since reunification, all Federal Conventions have had more than 1200 members, as

3330-571: Is estimated to be at the site of today's Domplatz . In 834 CE, Hamburg was designated as the seat of a bishopric . The first bishop, Ansgar , became known as the Apostle of the North. Two years later, Hamburg was united with Bremen as the Bishopric of Hamburg-Bremen . Hamburg was destroyed and occupied several times. In 845, 600 Viking ships sailed up the River Elbe and destroyed Hamburg, at that time

3441-421: Is spoken in Hamburg, but as typical for northern Germany, the original language of Hamburg is Low German , usually referred to as Hamborger Platt (German Hamburger Platt ) or Hamborgsch . Since large-scale standardisation of the German language beginning in earnest in the 18th century, various Low German-coloured dialects have developed (contact-varieties of German on Low Saxon substrates). Originally, there

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3552-493: Is surrounded by Schleswig-Holstein to the north and Lower Saxony to the south. The Port of Hamburg is Germany's largest and Europe's third-largest , after Rotterdam and Antwerp . The local dialect is a variant of Low Saxon . The official name reflects Hamburg's history as a member of the medieval Hanseatic League and a free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire . Before the 1871 unification of Germany , it

3663-637: The Bundesrat (it is the only event that demands such a joint session constitutionally). The religious references may optionally be omitted. I swear that I will dedicate my efforts to the well-being of the German people, promote their welfare, protect them from harm, uphold and defend the Basic Law and the laws of the Federation, perform my duties conscientiously and do justice to all. (So help me God.) German constitutional law does not consider oaths of office as constitutive but only as affirmative . This means that

3774-530: The Hasselbrack at 116.2 metres (381 ft) AMSL . Hamburg borders the states of Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony . Hamburg has an oceanic climate ( Köppen : Cfb ; Trewartha : Dobk ), influenced by its proximity to the coast and maritime influences that originate over the Atlantic Ocean. The location in the north of Germany provides extremes greater than typical marine climates, but definitely in

3885-587: The Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the Free Imperial City of Hamburg was not incorporated into a larger administrative area while retaining special privileges ( mediatised ), but became a sovereign state with the official title of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg . Hamburg was briefly annexed by Napoleon I to the First French Empire (1804–1814/1815). Russian forces under General Bennigsen finally freed

3996-754: The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea , the EU-LAC Foundation , and the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning , multipartite international political conferences and summits such as Europe and China and the G20 . Former German chancellors Helmut Schmidt and Angela Merkel were both born in Hamburg. The former Mayor of Hamburg , Olaf Scholz , has been the current German chancellor since December 2021. Hamburg

4107-511: The Mayor of Hamburg 's office corresponds more to the role of a minister-president than to that of a city mayor. As a German state government , it is responsible for public education, correctional institutions and public safety; as a municipality, it is additionally responsible for libraries, recreational facilities, sanitation, water supply and welfare services. Since 1897, the seat of the government has been Hamburg City Hall (Hamburg Rathaus), with

4218-565: The Neuengamme concentration camp (about 25 km (16 mi) outside the city in the marshlands), mostly from epidemics and in the destruction of Kriegsmarine vessels housing evacuees at the end of the war. Systematic deportations of Jewish Germans and Gentile Germans of Jewish descent started on 18 October 1941. These were all directed to ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe or to concentration camps . Most deported persons perished in

4329-542: The Ordeelbook ( Ordeel : sentence). On 10 August 1410, civil unrest forced a compromise (German: Rezeß , literally meaning: withdrawal). This is considered the first constitution of Hamburg . In 1356, the Matthiae-Mahl feast dinner for Hanseatic League cities was celebrated for the first time on 25 February, the first day of spring in medieval times. It continues today as the world's oldest ceremonial meal. In 1529,

4440-416: The head of government of one of the sixteen German states , elected by the Bundesrat in a predetermined order of annual alternation) as deputy of the president of Germany (Basic Law, Article 57). If the office of president falls vacant, they assume the powers of the president on an acting basis until a successor is elected. While doing so, they do not continue to exercise the role of chair of the Bundesrat. If

4551-540: The sea shanty Hamborger Veermaster , written in the 19th century when Low German was used more frequently. Many toponyms and street names reflect Low Saxon vocabulary, partially even in Low Saxon spelling, which is not standardised, and to some part in forms adapted to Standard German. 65.2% of the population is not religious or adherent other religions than the Evangelical Church or Catholicism. In 2018, 24.9% of

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4662-582: The Basic Law). The president also holds the prerogative to grant pardons on behalf of the federation. The German presidents, who can be elected to two consecutive five-year terms, have wide discretion about how they exercise their official duties. Under Article 59 (1) of the Basic Law (German Constitution), the president represents the Federal Republic of Germany in matters of international law, concludes treaties with foreign states on its behalf and accredits diplomats. Furthermore, all federal laws must be signed by

4773-415: The Bundesrat, also acted as head of state for a few days: after the Basic Law had come into effect and he himself was elected as President of the Bundesrat, the first President of Germany was not yet elected and the office therefore vacant. None of these three presidents of the Bundesrat acting as President, has used any of the more important powers of the president, as for example vetoing a law or dissolving

4884-410: The Bundestag has always had more than 600 parliamentarians since then. It is not required that state electors are chosen from the members of the state legislature; often some prominent citizens are chosen. The German constitution, the Basic Law, requires that the convention be convened no later than 30 days before the scheduled expiry of the sitting president's term or 30 days after a premature expiry of

4995-641: The Bundestag or the Bundesrat impeaches the president, the Federal Constitutional Court is charged with determining if they are guilty of the offence. If the charge is sustained, the court has the authority to remove the president from office. The official residence of the president is Bellevue Palace in Berlin. The president's second official residence is the Hammerschmidt Villa in Bonn, the former capital city of West Germany . Although these are

5106-457: The Bundestag refuses to approve the draft, the cabinet can ask the federal president to declare a "legislative state of emergency" ( Gesetzgebungsnotstand ) with regard to that specific law proposal. After the declaration of the president, the Bundestag has four weeks to discuss the draft law. If it does not approve it the cabinet can ask the Federal Council for approval. After the consent of

5217-525: The Bundestag), accredit German diplomats, and receive the letters of accreditation of foreign diplomats. According to Article 60 (2) of the German Constitution, the president has the power to pardon. This means the president "has the authority to revoke or commute penal or disciplinary sentences in individual cases. The federal president cannot, however, issue an amnesty waiving or commuting sentences for

5328-414: The Bundestag, although they would have been entitled to do so under the same conditions as the president. While in office, the president enjoys immunity from prosecution and cannot be voted out of office or recalled. The only mechanism for removing the president is impeachment by the Bundestag or Bundesrat for willfully violating German law. In either of the two bodies a two-thirds majority is required. Once

5439-600: The Bundestag: The first scenario has never happened. The second has been used to call snap elections in 1972 , 1983 , and 2005 , in all three cases with the incumbent chancellor asking his own party to vote down the confidence motion and obtaining a dissolution. Though the use of this strategy is controversial and the latter two cases resulted in complaints to the Federal Constitutional Court , it has been upheld as lawful. All federal laws must be signed by

5550-483: The Federal Council is secured, the draft law becomes law. There are some constraints on the "legislative state of emergency". After a president has declared the state of emergency for the first time, the government has only six months to use the procedure for other law proposals. Given the terms provided by the constitution, it is unlikely that the government can enact more than one other draft law in this way. Also,

5661-503: The German capital. The speakers include presidents, foreign ministers and other high-level political officials from abroad. They have the opportunity to discuss issues with a small group of senior foreign policy decision makers from the Bundestag , the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Chancellery, the Ministry of Defence, other agencies and selected think tanks. Since 2005, the Körber Network Foreign Policy has assembled

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5772-413: The Hamburg region ( Hamburg Metropolitan Region ) is home to 5,107,429 living on 196/km (510/sq mi). There were 915,319 women and 945,440 men in Hamburg. For every 1,000 females, there were 1,033 males. In 2015, there were 19,768 births in Hamburg (of which 38.3% were to unmarried women); 6422 marriages and 3190 divorces, and 17,565 deaths. In the city, the population was spread out, with 16.1% under

5883-749: The Holocaust . By the end of 1942, the Jüdischer Religionsverband in Hamburg was dissolved as an independent legal entity and its remaining assets and staff were assumed by the Reich Association of Jews in Germany (District Northwest). On 10 June 1943, the Reich Security Main Office dissolved the association by a decree. The few remaining employees not somewhat protected by a mixed marriage were deported from Hamburg on 23 June to Theresienstadt , where most of them perished. The city

5994-732: The Körber Foundation's Berlin Office. Once a year, the group takes a field trip to gain personal experience with focal points of international politics. Participants meet senior representatives of governments and international organizations, as well as people active on the ground – in peace-keeping missions, military structures, and major economic projects. Field trips were organised to Kosovo and Belgrade in 2005, to Georgia (including Abkhazia ) in 2006 and to Iran in 2007. Connections between Körber Foundation and politics have been described as too close by some media. A history contest, organized by

6105-620: The Lower Elbe into the North Sea. In 1265, an allegedly forged letter was presented to or by the Rath of Hamburg. This charter, along with Hamburg's proximity to the main trade routes of the North Sea and Baltic Sea , quickly made it a major port in Northern Europe. Its trade alliance with Lübeck in 1241 marks the origin and core of the powerful Hanseatic League of trading cities. On 8 November 1266,

6216-502: The Office of the President" represents the will and views of the president in the meetings of the Federal Cabinet and reports back to the president. The president's most prominent powers and duties include: After an election or other vacancy in the chancellor's office, the president must propose an individual to the Bundestag to be elected chancellor. The Bundestag is required to vote on this proposed candidate. If this vote fails,

6327-683: The River Alster to create lakes. The islands of Neuwerk , Scharhörn , and Nigehörn , 100 kilometres (60 mi) away in the Hamburg Wadden Sea National Park , are also part of the city of Hamburg. The neighbourhoods of Neuenfelde , Cranz , Francop and Finkenwerder are part of the Altes Land (old land) region, the largest contiguous fruit-producing region in Central Europe. Neugraben-Fischbek has Hamburg's highest elevation,

6438-418: The aftermath of the raids. While some of the boroughs destroyed were rebuilt as residential districts after the war, others such as Hammerbrook were entirely developed into office, retail and limited residential or industrial districts. The Hamburg Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery is in the greater Ohlsdorf Cemetery in the north of Hamburg. At least 42,900 people are thought to have perished in

6549-481: The age of 18, and 18.3% were 65 years of age or older. 356 people in Hamburg were over the age of 100. According to the Statistical Office for Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein , the number of people with a migrant background is at 34% (631,246). Immigrants come from 200 countries. 5,891 people have acquired German cititzenship in 2016. In 2016, there were 1,021,666 households, of which 17.8% had children under

6660-403: The age of 18; 54.4% of all households were made up of singles. 25.6% of all households were single parent households. The average household size was 1.8. Hamburg has the largest Portuguese community in Germany with about 30,000 people with Portuguese heritage . Many Portuguese sailors and merchants came to Hamburg beginning in the 15th century due to its port . Since the 1970s, there has been

6771-399: The autumn of 2006, President Horst Köhler did so twice within three months. Also, in some cases, a president has signed a law while asking that the political parties refer the case to the Federal Constitutional Court in order to test the law's constitutionality. The Basic Law did not create an office of Vice President, but designated the President of the Bundesrat (by constitutional custom

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6882-634: The boroughs and quarters have been rearranged several times. Each borough is governed by a Borough Council (German: Bezirksversammlung ) and administered by a Municipal Administrator (German: Bezirksamtsleiter ). The boroughs are not independent municipalities: their power is limited and subordinate to the Senate of Hamburg . The borough administrator is elected by the Borough Council and thereafter requires confirmation and appointment by Hamburg's Senate. The quarters have no governing bodies of their own. Since

6993-427: The candidate who achieves an absolute majority is elected. If, after two votes, no single candidate has received this level of support, in the third and final vote the candidate who wins a plurality of votes cast is elected. The result of the election is often determined by party politics. In most cases, the candidate of the majority party or coalition in the Bundestag is considered to be the likely winner. However, as

7104-711: The category due to the prevailing westerlies. Nearby wetlands enjoy a maritime temperate climate. The amount of snowfall has varied greatly in recent decades. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, heavy snowfall sometimes occurred, the winters of recent years have been less cold, with snowfall just a few days per year. The warmest months are June, July, and August, with high temperatures of 20.1 to 22.5 °C (68.2 to 72.5 °F). The coldest are December, January, and February, with low temperatures of −0.3 to 1.0 °C (31.5 to 33.8 °F). The annual extreme temperatures range from −29.1 °C (−20.4 °F) on 13 February 1940, to 40.1 °C (104.2 °F) on 20 July 2022 , and

7215-495: The chancellor or the corresponding federal minister in charge of the respective field of politics. This rule ensures the coherence of government action, similar to the system of checks and balances in the United States. There is no need for a countersignature if the president proposes, appoints, or dismisses the chancellor; convenes or dissolves the Bundestag according to Article 63; declares a legislative state of emergency; calls on

7326-522: The city embraced Lutheranism , and it received Reformed refugees from the Netherlands and France. When Jan van Valckenborgh introduced a second layer to the fortifications to protect against the Thirty Years' War in the seventeenth century, he extended Hamburg and created a "New Town" ( Neustadt ) whose street names still date from the grid system of roads he introduced. From the autumn of 1696 to

7437-403: The city from most of its hinterland and reduced Hamburg's global trade. Since German reunification in 1990, and the accession of several Central European and Baltic countries into the European Union in 2004, the Port of Hamburg has restarted ambitions for regaining its position as the region's largest deep-sea port for container shipping and its major commercial and trading centre. Hamburg

7548-416: The city in 1814. Hamburg re-assumed its pre-1811 status as a city-state in 1814. The Vienna Congress of 1815 confirmed Hamburg's independence and it became one of 39 sovereign states of the German Confederation (1815–1866). In 1842, about a quarter of the inner city was destroyed in the " Great Fire ". The fire started on the night of 4 May and was not extinguished until 8 May. It destroyed three churches,

7659-434: The city is also home to notable cultural venues such as the Elbphilharmonie and Laeiszhalle concert halls. It gave birth to movements like Hamburger Schule and paved the way for bands including the Beatles . Hamburg is also known for several theatres and a variety of musical shows. St. Pauli 's Reeperbahn is among the best-known European red light districts. Claudius Ptolemy (2nd century AD) reported

7770-399: The city. Hamburg was the departure port for many Germans and Eastern Europeans to emigrate to the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Trading communities from all over the world established themselves there. A major outbreak of cholera in 1892 was badly handled by the city government, which retained an unusual degree of independence for a German city. About 8,600 died in

7881-443: The coalition broke apart on 28 November 2010. On 7 March 2011 Olaf Scholz ( SPD ) became mayor. After the 2015 election the SPD and the Alliance 90/The Greens formed a coalition. Hamburg is made up of seven boroughs (German: Bezirke ) and subdivided into 104 quarters (German: Stadtteile ). There are 181 localities (German: Ortsteile ). The urban organisation is regulated by the Constitution of Hamburg and several laws. Most of

7992-404: The emergency has to be declared afresh for every proposal. This means that the six months are not a period in which the government together with the president and the Federal Council simply replaces the Bundestag as lawgiver. The Bundestag remains fully competent to pass laws during these six months. The state of emergency also ends if the office of the chancellor ends. During the same term and after

8103-429: The end, Wulff obtained a majority in the third ballot. If the opposition has turned in a strong showing in state elections, it can potentially have enough support to defeat the chancellor's party's candidate; this happened in the elections in 1979 and 2004. For this reason, presidential elections can indicate the result of an upcoming general election. According to a long-standing adage in German politics, "if you can create

8214-445: The executive (government) with the power to "enable decrees in a state of emergency" ( exekutives Notverordnungsrecht ), but for historical reasons the constitution avoided this expression. Though candidates are usually selected by a political party or parties, the president nonetheless is traditionally expected to refrain from being an active member of any party after assuming office. Every president to date, except Joachim Gauck (who

8325-655: The first name for the vicinity as Treva . The name Hamburg comes from the first permanent building on the site, a castle which the Emperor Charlemagne ordered constructed in AD 808. It rose on rocky terrain in a marsh between the River Alster and the River Elbe as a defence against Slavic incursion, and acquired the name Hammaburg , burg meaning castle or fort. The origin of the Hamma term remains uncertain, but its location

8436-496: The foundation, has been under the patronage of the President of Germany . Government politicians have been members of advisory councils for foundation awards and similar activities. According to critics, such connections violate guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding the relations between governments and tobacco industry . However, affected politicians have pointed out the foundation's reputation and

8547-467: The historical origin of Hamburg. President of Germany The President of Germany , officially titled the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundespräsident der Bundesrepublik Deutschland ), is the head of state of Germany . The current officeholder is Frank-Walter Steinmeier who was elected on 12 February 2017 and re-elected on 13 February 2022. He

8658-481: The honorary godparent of the seventh child in a family if the parents wish it. They also send letters of congratulations to centenarians and long-time married couples. Article 81 makes it possible to enact a law without the approval of the Bundestag: if the Bundestag rejects a motion of confidence, but a new chancellor is not elected nor is the Bundestag dissolved, the chancellor can declare a draft law to be "urgent". If

8769-423: The incumbent president had serious doubts about the constitutionality of a bill laid before them, they have refused to sign it. It also has to be stated that the president may at their own discretion sign such a "vetoed" bill at any later time, if for example the Basic Law has been changed in the relevant aspect or if the bill in question has been amended according to his concerns, because their initial refusal to sign

8880-644: The largest German epidemic of the late 19th century, and the last major cholera epidemic in a major city of the Western world. Hamburg was a Gau within the administrative division of Nazi Germany from 1934 until 1945. During the Second World War , the Allied bombing of Hamburg devastated much of the city and the harbour. On 23 July 1943, the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Force firebombing created

8991-583: The latest territorial reform of March 2008, the boroughs are Hamburg-Mitte , Altona , Eimsbüttel , Hamburg-Nord , Wandsbek , Bergedorf , and Harburg . Hamburg-Mitte ("Hamburg Centre") covers mostly the urban centre of the city and consists of the quarters Billbrook , Billstedt , Borgfelde , Finkenwerder , HafenCity , Hamm , Hammerbrook , Horn , Kleiner Grasbrook , Neuwerk , Rothenburgsort , St. Georg , St. Pauli , Steinwerder , Veddel , Waltershof , and Wilhelmsburg . The quarters Hamburg-Altstadt ("old town") and Neustadt ("new town") are

9102-453: The latter was measured at Hamburg-Neuwiedenthal Meteorological Station, on the same day, a high temperature record of 39.1 °C (102.4 °F) was recorded at Hamburg Airport . View climate chart 1986–2016 or 1960–1990 On 31 December 2016, there were 1,860,759 people registered as living in Hamburg in an area of 755.3 km (291.6 sq mi). The population density was 2,464/km (6,380/sq mi). The metropolitan area of

9213-549: The law and the constitution. It is a matter of political tradition – not legal restrictions – that the president generally does not comment routinely on issues in the news, particularly when there is some controversy among the political parties. This distance from day-to-day politics and daily governmental issues allows the president to be a source of clarification, to influence public debate, voice criticism, offer suggestions, and make proposals. In order to exercise this power, they traditionally act above party politics. The president

9324-423: The members of the Federal Convention vote by secret ballot and are free to vote against their party's candidate, some presidential elections were considered open or too close to call beforehand because of relatively balanced majority positions or because the governing coalition's parties could not agree on one candidate and endorsed different people, as they did in 1969, when Gustav Heinemann won by only six votes on

9435-456: The occasion of the 30th anniversary of the dissolution of the USSR, the platform implemented the digital programme "Phantom Pasts or Everyday Present?". Within the framework of the project participants aged 18–24 from 13 countries explored the material(ized) remains of the socialist past in the context of their own home towns and visualized their collected materials online with the help of an art curator,

9546-604: The office of the mayor, the meeting room for the Senate and the floor for the Hamburg Parliament . From 2001 until 2010, the mayor of Hamburg was Ole von Beust , who governed in Germany's first statewide "black-green" coalition, consisting of the conservative CDU Hamburg and the alternative GAL, which are Hamburg's regional wing of the Alliance 90/The Greens party. Von Beust was briefly succeeded by Christoph Ahlhaus in 2010, but

9657-1007: The population belonged to the North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church , the largest religious body, and 9.9% to the Roman Catholic Church . Hamburg is seat of one of the three bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany and seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hamburg . According to the publication Muslimisches Leben in Deutschland (" Muslim life in Germany "), an estimated 141,900 Muslim migrants (from nearly 50 countries of origin) lived in Hamburg in 2008. About three years later (May 2011) calculations based on census data for 21 countries of origin resulted in

9768-490: The president before they can come into effect. The president may refuse to sign the law, thus effectively vetoing it. In principle, the president has the full veto authority on any bill, but this, however, is not how past presidents handled their power. Usually, the president checks if the law was passed according to the order mandated by the Constitution and/or if the content of the law is constitutional. Only in cases in which

9879-400: The president before they can come into effect; presidents may veto a law if they believe it to violate the constitution. The president's actions and public appearances represent the state itself, its existence, legitimacy, and unity. The president enjoys a higher ranking at official functions than the chancellor. The president's role is integrative and includes the control function of upholding

9990-516: The president dies in office, resigns, or is otherwise removed from office, a successor is to be elected within thirty days. Horst Köhler, upon his resignation on 31 May 2010, became the first president to trigger this re-election process. Jens Böhrnsen , President of the Senate and Mayor of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen and at the time President of the Bundesrat, became Acting President. Similarly, when Christian Wulff resigned in 2012, it

10101-440: The president does not have to take the oath at the moment of entering office in order to be able to exercise its constitutional powers. In practice, the oath is usually administered during the first days or weeks of a president's term on a date convenient for a joint session of the Bundestag and the Bundesrat. Nevertheless, in theory a persistent refusal to take the oath is considered to be an impeachable offence by legal scholars. If

10212-482: The president is temporarily unable to perform their duties (this happens frequently, for example if the president is abroad on a state visit), he can at his own discretion delegate his powers or parts of them to the president of the Bundesrat. For example, in early November 2022, then President of the Bundesrat Peter Tschentscher deputised President Steinmeier when the latter was on a trip to Asia. If

10323-457: The printing and publishing firm Gruner + Jahr and the newspapers Der Spiegel and Die Zeit are based in the city. Hamburg is the seat of Germany's oldest stock exchange and the world's oldest merchant bank , Berenberg Bank . Media, commercial, logistical, and industrial firms with significant locations in the city include multinationals Airbus , Blohm + Voss , Aurubis , Beiersdorf , Lufthansa and Unilever . Hamburg

10434-460: The quarters were former independent cities, towns or villages annexed into Hamburg proper. The last large annexation was done through the Greater Hamburg Act of 1937, when the cities Altona , Harburg , and Wandsbek were merged into the state of Hamburg. The Act of the Constitution and Administration of Hanseatic city of Hamburg established Hamburg as a state and a municipality. Some of

10545-522: The realms of politics, science, business and society, focussing on the dialogue between policy-makers, diplomats and experts in international relations. More than 2,000 politicians and experts – among them Pope John Paul II , Vladimir Putin , Helmut Kohl and Helmut Schmidt – have participated at one or more of 139 Bergedorf Round Tables. Except for short statements to kick off the discussion, participants do not report prepared speeches, but intervene spontaneously. The discussions take place at venues where

10656-428: The right of nomination falls to the Bundestag, which is then given 14 days to elect another person. In either case, the President is obliged to appoint the person if a majority of the entire elected Bundestag, not just those present, votes for them (the so-called Kanzlermehrheit , "Chancellor majority"). If the Bundestag cannot elect anyone with a majority in the 14-day period, it is required to hold one final ballot. If

10767-429: The second half of the 19th century when its population more than quadrupled to 800,000 as the growth of the city's Atlantic trade helped make it Europe's second-largest port. The Hamburg-America Line , with Albert Ballin as its director, became the world's largest transatlantic shipping company around the start of the 20th century. Shipping companies sailing to South America, Africa, India and East Asia were based in

10878-696: The separation of Church and State, freedom of the press, of assembly and association. Hamburg became a member of the North German Confederation (1866–1871) and of the German Empire (1871–1918), and maintained its self-ruling status during the Weimar Republic (1919–1933). Hamburg acceded to the German Customs Union or Zollverein in 1888, the last (along with Bremen) of the German states to join. The city experienced its fastest growth during

10989-472: The six months, the chancellor cannot use the procedure of Article 81 again. A "legislative state of emergency" has never been declared. In case of serious disagreement between the chancellor and the Bundestag, the chancellor resigns or the Bundestag faces new elections. The provision of Article 81 is intended to assist the government for a short time, but not to use it in crisis for a longer period. According to constitutional commentator Bryde, Article 81 provides

11100-514: The social value of its projects. Hamburg Hamburg ( German: [ˈhambʊʁk] , locally also [ˈhambʊɪ̯ç] ; Low Saxon : Hamborg [ˈhambɔːç] ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg , is the second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and 6th-largest in the European Union with a population of over 1.9 million. The Hamburg Metropolitan Region has

11211-647: The spring of 1697 the Company of Scotland trading to Africa and the Indies was active in Hamburg. While it was unsuccessful in raising capital locally, it commissioned the construction of four vessels in the port. The Caledonia , a ship of 600 tons with 56 guns, and the Instuaration (later renamed the St. Andrew ), a vessel of 350 tons, were launched in March 1697. Upon the dissolution of

11322-418: The support of a majority. The President is then required to dismiss the chancellor and appoint the new candidate. The president also appoints and dismisses the remaining members of the federal government upon proposal of the chancellor. This theoretically means that the president can appoint only those candidates presented by the chancellor. It is unclear whether the president could refuse to dismiss or appoint

11433-422: The third ballot. In other cases, elections have turned out to be much closer than expected. For example, in 2010, Wulff was expected to win on the first ballot, as the parties supporting him (CDU, CSU and FDP) had a stable absolute majority in the Federal Convention. Nevertheless, he failed to win a majority in the first and second ballots, while his main opponent Joachim Gauck had an unexpectedly strong showing. In

11544-439: The topic under discussion is immediate and tangible. Participants come from Germany, other member states of the EU, from the US and from the region which is concerned. Following the conference a summary is sent to the participants and foreign policy-makers. Every Bergedorf Round Table is published as a protocol in German and English. To ensure confidentiality, the participants edit their contributions before publication. Three times

11655-416: The town hall, and many other buildings, killing 51 people and leaving an estimated 20,000 homeless. Reconstruction took more than 40 years. After periodic political unrest, particularly in 1848 , Hamburg adopted in 1860 a semidemocratic constitution that provided for the election of the Senate, the governing body of the city-state, by adult taxpaying males. Other innovations included the separation of powers,

11766-447: Was Horst Seehofer , Minister-President of Bavaria , as President of the Bundesrat, who became Acting President. When Heinrich Lübke, on the other hand, announced his resignation in 1968, it only came into effect the following year, a mere three months before the scheduled end of his term and after the expedited election of his successor. Back in 1949, Karl Arnold , at the time Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia and President of

11877-476: Was a fully sovereign city state , and before 1919 formed a civic republic headed constitutionally by a class of hereditary Grand Burghers or Hanseaten . Beset by disasters such as the Great Fire of Hamburg , North Sea flood of 1962 and military conflicts including World War II bombing raids , the city has managed to recover and emerge wealthier after each catastrophe. Major regional broadcaster NDR ,

11988-408: Was a range of such Missingsch varieties, the best-known being the low-prestige ones of the working classes and the somewhat more bourgeois Hanseatendeutsch (Hanseatic German), although the term is used in appreciation. All of these are now moribund due to the influences of Standard German used by education and media. However, the former importance of Low German is indicated by several songs, such as

12099-428: Was an independent ), has suspended their party membership for the duration of their term. Presidents have, however, spoken publicly about their personal views on political matters. The very fact that a president is expected to remain above politics usually means that when they do speak out on an issue, it is considered to be of great importance. In some cases, a presidential speech has dominated German political debate for

12210-576: Was suggested by Portuguese residents to bring visibility to the Portuguese community in Hamburg. Hamburg's Afghan community of about 50,000 people is the largest not only in Germany, but also in Europe. They first came to Hamburg in the 1970s before expanding during the Afghan conflict in the 1980s and 1990s where many Afghan migrants chose to live in Hamburg. After 2015 the Afghan population almost doubled due to

12321-645: Was surrendered to British Forces on 3 May 1945, in the Battle of Hamburg , three days after Adolf Hitler 's death. After the Second World War , Hamburg formed part of the British Zone of Occupation ; it became a state of West Germany in 1949. On 16 February 1962, a North Sea flood caused the Elbe to rise to an all-time high, inundating one-fifth of Hamburg and killing more than 300 people. The inner German border – only 50 kilometres (30 mi) east of Hamburg – separated

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