Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 09.djvu/548

* HAMBUBG. 494 HAMBURG. Hohenfelde, and Uhlenhorst. lu most of these suburbs attractive villas may be found. The beauty of the city is greatly enhanced by two large sheets of water formed by the Alstcr, and known as the Binnen-Alslur, or Alsterbassin, and Aussen-Alster. They are surrounded by good hotels, handsome private houses, and fash- ionable promenades. Two splendid bridges span the Elbe, over sixty bridges span the canals in the city, and there are numerous steam ferries. The harbor, with its vast traffic, is one of the sights of the city, and splendid views of it are to be had from different elevations. Of the several ttne public buildings, the most note- worthv are the Exchange, containing a commer- cial library, with over 100,000 volumes; the Kathaus, an elaborate structure in Roman Re- naissance, completed in 1S97 ; the Seewarte {the buildings of the German Meteorological Station) ; and the Deutsches Schauspielhaus, completed in 1900. The priucipal churches are: Saint Nich- olas, built from designs by Sir Gilbert Scott, at a cost of $1,000,000, as a memorial of the fire of lS-t2, a fine Gothic building, with one of the loftiest spires in Europe (485 feet high) ; Saint ilichael's, built in the eighteenth century, ' in the Renaissance style, and also distinguished by a lofty spire (426 feet high) ; and Saint Catharine's, dating from the fifteenth century, and arehieologieaily interesting, being one of the few eliui'ches that escajwd the fire. Among the streets of Hamburg the Jungfern- stieg is the most famous and the busiest thor- oughfare. The Alter Jungfernstieg and the Neuer .Jungfernstieg are handsome quays, which bound the Alsterbassin. The Neurwall and the Alterwall, near the Exchange, are the centre of eonniicrcial life, and the Rodings-ilarkt and the Katharinenstrasse contain fine residences of merchants of the seventeenth and eighteenth cen- turies. Of the new streets, the Kaiser-Wilhelm- Strasse, opened in 1802, is the most important. The Anlagen are a fine public promenade, laid out on the site of the old fortifications, and the Sandthor-Quai and the Kaiser-Quai. where the large steamships lie, are the most prominent quays along the Elbe. Hamburg is not rich in public monuments. The statue of Lessing, by Schaper. the monument to the sons of Ham- burg who fell in the war of 1870-71, by Schil- ling and the Hansa fountain, deserve mention. Situated on a low jilain, far from any moun- tains, the city derives its drinking-water from the Elbe. Formerly this was so polluted that Hamburg suffered from cholera epidemics more than any other city in Northern Europe : but since 18!).3.. when a ncAvly devised and enormous filtering plant was put into operation, there has been no recurrence of the epidemic. A well-con- structed sewerage system drains the city per- fectly, discharging the refuse into one sewer tunnel Avhich empties into the river with the outgoing tide, and is automatically dammed by the incoming tide. Garbage is burned in municipal crematories erected in 1893. The streets are well paved with asphalt or smooth square stones, and are kept very clean, the principal ones being washed and swept every day. and the less fre- quented ones cleaned a iew times a week. The struggle against cholera epidemics led the city authorities to revise also the building regula- tions. This was necessitated bv the fact that the poorer classes of the population are hou.sed in the mediijeval portion of the town, in crowded liouses facing narrow streets and small, poorly ventilated courts; a considerable part of them (Gi/-> per cent, in 1890) lived in cellars. The new rules require more sanitary arrangements, and, in case of cellars, more light and better safe- guards against dampness. Hamburg has a large number of hospitals, the most noteworthy being the Epidemic Hospital, opened in 1894, and considered one of the best in the world. Connected with the hospitals are sta- tions equipped with large ovens for disinfection by heat of all kinds of household goods. Food inspection is in charge of the H_ygienic Institute, where a thorouglily equipped bacteriological lab- oratory is maintained. A special sanitary ser- vice is maintained in the harbor, to see that all the sanitary regulations are complied with on incoming ships. Municipal baths and wash- houses were established in 1855. The establLsh- raents are built and run after the British model. (See Liverpool: Gi.-S(ow-: M.sciiestee : etc. I The effect of all these measures is seen in the diminished death-rate, which declined from 30 per 1000 in 1805 to less than 20 in 1895 and about 17 in 1900. Hamburg owns both its gas- works and electric plant ; but they are operated by a private company paying the city a high rental, and rendering excellent service under the strict supervision of the city authorities. The street cars are also in the hands of private com- panies, who pay the city a tax of one pfeimig per passenger, in addition to all ordinary taxes levied by the city, besides keeping the streets in repair within the limits of one or two feet on either side of the tracks. At the expiration of Uie charter the property of the company reverts to the city. Electricity is supplanting the use of horse-power on most of the lines. There is also a line operated by steam, belonging to the Prus- sian Government, and connecting the various railway depots in the city. The fares range from 2W. cents upward, according to class and distance. The charitable institutions are numerous ami well endowed. For the purposes of poor relief, the city is divided into nine districts, which are in turn subdivided into some 1000 smaller dis- tricts. The work of relief is administered by a charity board, composed of three Senators and fifteen members of the Lower House, elected for five-vear terms. The amount spent for relief was 2,820.000 marks in 1884. 5.023.000 marks in 1893. and 0,538.000 marks in 1899. There are also a great many private societies and asylums for the relief or reception of needy jjersons. Besides the hospitals mentioned above, there are two general hospitals, a seamen's hospital, an establishment for the insane, with an agricultural colony at Langenhora (1893), and other special institu- tions. There are .several large and excellent private schools, over 160 public schools, a school of art. and conservatory of music, in addition to the Johanneum. a ptiblic grammar school, founded in 152S. The city also maintains a correctional school (Strafschule), to which children may be sent for jieriods of from eight days to eight weeks, an orphan school, a school for deaf and dumb, and one for the blind. There are. besides, schools for technical instruction, building con- struction, machine-building, navigation, and phar-