Altona, Hamburg
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Altona | |
| Borough of Hamburg | |
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| Coat of arms | Location |
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| Administration | |
| Country |  Germany |
|---|---|
| State | Hamburg |
| District | Altona, Hamburg |
| Borough subdivisions | 13 quarters |
| Basic statistics | |
| Area | 77.5 km² (29.9 sq mi) |
| Population | 243,972 (31/12/2006) |
| - Density | 3,148 /km² (8,153 /sq mi) |
| Founded | 1535 |
| Other information | |
| Time zone | CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) |
| Licence plate | HH |
| Area code | 040 |
| Boroughs of Hamburg | |
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Altona (IPA: [ˈaltona]) is the westernmost urban borough (Bezirk) of the city state of Hamburg, Germany, on the right bank of the Elbe.
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[edit] History
It was founded in 1535 as a village of fishermen. In 1664 it received city rights from Danish King Frederik III. Until 1864 Altona was one of the Danish monarchy's most important harbour towns. The railroad from Altona to Kiel, the Christian VIII Baltic Sea Rail Line (Christian VIII Østersø Jernbane), was opened in 1844.
The wars between Denmark and the Kingdom of Prussia like the First Schleswig War (1848–1851) and the Second War of Schleswig (Feb 1864 - Oct 1864) followed by the Treaty of Vienna (1894) were causing Denmark's cession of the Duchies of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg to Prussian and Austrian administration, respectively. In 1867 Altona became part of the Kingdom of Prussia.
The Greater Hamburg Act took it away from the Free State of Prussia in 1937 and merged it (and several surrounding cities) with the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg in 1938.
On February 1, 2007 the Ortsämter (Precincts) in Hamburg were dissolved, in Altona there were the precincts Blankenese, Lurup and Osdorf with local offices. March 1, 2008 the neighborhood Schanzenviertel in the boroughs Altona, Eimsbüttel and Hamburg-Mitte became the quarter Sternschanze in the borough Altona. [1]
[edit] Geography
The border of Altona to the south is the River Elbe, and across the river the state Lower Saxony and the boroughs Harburg and Hamburg-Mitte. To the east is the borough Hamburg-Mitte and to the north is the borough Eimsbüttel. The western border is to the state of Schleswig-Holstein. According to the statistical office Hamburg the area of Altona was in 2006 77.5 km² or 29.9 sq mi.
[edit] Quarters
Politically, the following quarters (Stadtteile) are subject to the borough Altona:
- Altona-Altstadt
- Altona-Nord
- Bahrenfeld
- Ottensen
- Othmarschen (including parts of Klein Flottbek)
- Groß Flottbek
- Osdorf
- Lurup
- Nienstedten (including parts of Klein Flottbek)
- Blankenese
- Iserbrook
- Sülldorf
- Rissen
- Sternschanze
[edit] Demographics
In 2006 in the borough Altona were living 243,972 people. 16.4% were children under the age of 18, and 18.6% were 65 years of age or older. 15.3% were immigrants. 12,545 people were registered as unemployed.[2] In 1999 48% of all households were made up of individuals [3].
There were 37 elementary schools and 30 secondary schools in Altona and 635 physicians in private practice and 67 pharmacies.[4]
[edit] Diet of the borough
Simultaneously with elections to the state parliament (Bürgerschaft), the Bezirksversammlung is elected as representatives of the citizens. It consists of 51 representatives. See also : Boroughs of Hamburg
[edit] Elections
Elections were held in Hamburg on 24 February 2008. The five parties having more than 5 percent in recent polls (minimum to qualify) are the conservative CDU, the social-democratic SPD, the ecologist Green Party (GAL), the left-wing Die Linke and the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP). The voter participation were 65.2%.[5]
| Party | Percent | Seats |
|---|---|---|
| CDU | 34.6 | 18 |
| SPD | 29.8 | 16 |
| GAL | 18.3 | 9 |
| Die Linke | 9.2 | 5 |
| FDP | 5.9 | 3 |
[edit] Transportation
Today Altona is the location of a major railway station, Hamburg-Altona railway station, connecting the Hamburg S-Bahn with the regional railways.
The Bundesautobahn 7 leads through Altona borough.
According to the Department of Motor Vehicles (Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt), in Altona were 87,131 private cars registered ((359 cars/1000 people). [4]
[edit] Gallery
 Altona railway station track no. 6 |
 Allee theatre in Altona |
 Today Altona's harbour is mostly used as museum Schiffsanleger Neumühlen |
[edit] Notes
- ^ Act of the areal organisation
- ^ Residents registration office, source: statistical office Nord of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein (2006)
- ^ Source: statistical office Nord of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein (1999)
- ^ a b Source: statistical office Nord of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein (2006)
- ^ Final election result, source: statistical office of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein (2008)
[edit] References
- Statistical office Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein Statistisches Amt für Hamburg und Schleswig-Holstein, official website (in german)
- Act of the areal organisation, July 6 2006 Gesetz über die räumliche Gliederung der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg (RäumGiG) (German)
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