Hun bixêr hatin Mirë se erdhët Te aven Baxtale Welcome Bienvenue Willkommen THE HAMBURG RATHAUS SEAT OF THE HAMBURG STATE PARLIAMENT AND THE HAMBURG STATE ADMINISTRATION Kalender Englisch Umschlag U1-U4.indd 1 06.06.17 20:56 The Hamburg Rathaus Kalender Englisch Umschlag U1-U4.indd 2 06.06.17 20:57 The Hamburg Rathaus Seat of the state parliament and state administration Welcome to Hamburg! We hope that you will Hygieia and the dragon symbolize the conque- state parliament and the Hamburg state ad- settle in well and that Hamburg will become ring of the Hamburg cholera epidemic of 1892. minstration. your second home. With this brochure, we’d In Hamburg, the state parliament is called the like to introduce you to the Hamburg Rathaus, Bürgerschaft and the state administration is the city hall. It is the seat of Hamburg’s state called the Senat. parliament and administration. Perhaps it It is at the Rathaus where issues important is comparable to similar buildings in your to you are debated and resolutions made – countries, in which the state administration housing and health issues, education issues, or state parliament have their seats. and economic issues, for example. The Rathaus is in the middle of the city, and Please take the time to accompany us through was built more than 100 years ago, between the Hamburg Rathaus on the following pages, 1884 and 1897. With its richly decorated and learn about the work and the responsibili- commons.wikimedia.org/Brüning (gr.); Rademacher Jens Photos: façade, its width of 111 meters, its 112-meter ties of the Senat and the Bürgerschaft. tall central tower, and its 647 rooms, the On this tour we will show you the opulent and Rathaus looks a bit like a castle. richly decorated rooms of the Rathaus, with The inner courtyard of the Rathaus is also their murals, wood carvings, and much more. worth a look. It is open to the public, and These rooms are where events and receptions is an oasis of peace and relaxation in Ham- for dignitaries from countries all over the world burg’s busy city center. are hosted. The Hygieia Fountain splashes quietly at the The city is governed from the center of the courtyard. Mythical beings, a Hamburg Rathaus Before we step through the ornate dragon, and Hygieia, the Greek goddess of Even though the Rathaus may look like a castle, cast iron front gate into the Rathaus, the health and hygiene, decorate the fountain. you’ll find no king or emperor reigning here. It next pages will explain Hamburg’s political is the workplace of the democratically elected structure. 1 Kalender Englisch Innen.indd 1 17.04.17 23:05 View looking north over the Rathaus and the Binnenalster Kalender Englisch Innen.indd 2 17.04.17 23:05 Hamburg is Germany’s second-largest City More than 1.8 million people live here, including about 30,000 refugees Hamburg is the second-largest city in Germa- In 2015, more than 1.1 million people fled from Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Eritrea, Pakistan, ny, with more than 1.8 million residents and an the turmoil in the Middle East to Germany. the Russian Federation, Serbia, Macedonia, and area of 755.3 km³. Around 57,000 of them have sought refuge in Kosovo. Hamburg. Hamburg was not able to accept all Just a few steps from the Rathaus is the Als- of these refugees, and places were found for To date, Hamburg has created more than ter River. Hundreds of years ago, the river was them in other German states. 31,763 refugees 39,000 places of accommodation. Of those, dammed to form the Alster Lake. Later the remained in Hamburg. Most of them are from 13,050 are in preliminary reception centers city walls divided the lake into the Binnenals- and 26,903 in subsequent housing (data from ter and the Außenalster – the inner and outer 31 December 2016). lakes. The Lombardsbrücke (Lombard Bridge), which can be seen in the background of the Information for refugees in Hamburg can be photo, was built to span the small channel that found at http://we-inform.de/portal/de/ connects the two lakes. The lakeshores are an ideal spot for pleasant strolls, and in good weather you can enjoy the sun sparkling on the water. Photos: Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de (CC 3.0 BY-SA DE) v(o.); pixelio/Dieter Schütz Of the more than 1.8 million residents of Ham- burg, around 565,919 are immigrants or de- scendants of immigrants. These are people who immigrated to Germany after 1949, as well as In the past years, tens of thousands of refugees have come to Hamburg. Many citizens have lent a all of those born in Germany to at least one helping hand in making the refugees’ transition parent who was an immigrant or was born in to life in Hamburg easier. Germany as a citizen of another country. 2 Kalender Englisch Innen.indd 3 17.04.17 23:05 Germany has 16 federal states Schleswig-Holstein Mecklenburg-West Pomerania Bremen Hamburg Brandenburg Lower Saxony Hamburg is one of the 16 federal states Berlin Saxony-Anhalt North Rhine-Westphalia Saxony Thuringia Hesse Rhineland-Palatinate Saarland Bavaria Baden-Württemberg Kalender Englisch Innen.indd 4 17.04.17 23:05 Hamburg is a Federal State in the Federal Republic of Germany – with a Distinction Germany has 16 federal states. also city-states, because their territories in- The federal government is also responsible for Hamburg is one of them clude nothing beyond the borders of the city. Germany’s asylum and refugee policies. You Many of you come from countries where there Other federal states have Kreise (administrative can find information about the asylum process are federal states, provinces, or regions. For districts, counties, parishes) and Kommunen at www.ankommenapp.de example, Syria has 14 governorates; Ethiopia (municipalities) like the states, governorates, has nine federal states or administrative dis- or regions in your country of origin – city-sta- The Federal Republic and states share tricts and two independent cities; Afghanistan tes do not have these sub-divisions. legislative responsibilities Orth Andrea Informationsgrafik: has 34 provinces; Iraq has 18 governorates and The sharing of duties is defined in Article 70ff one autonomous region with its own parlia- Federation of all states into the of the Constitution (Grundgesetz) of the Federal ment; Eritrea has six administrative districts; Federal Republic of Germany Republic of Germany. The article specifies the Iran has 31 provinces. The sixteen states are federated to form the areas for which the federal government or the Germany is also made up of federal states, Federal Republic of Germany. The Federal states make the laws. You can find links to the called Bundesländer. There are 16 Bundeslän- Republic of Germany is governed by the Bun- text of the Constitution on page 6. der, and Hamburg is one of them. desregierung, the federal government. Its seat Above is a map of Germany, which shows the is in Berlin. 16 federal states. Each state has a state ad- ministration. In Hamburg, the administration is Sharing of duties between the called the Senat. federal government and the state governments The Federal State of Hamburg The federal government and the governments is a city-state of the 16 states share governmental duties. Hamburg is structured differently than most of The federal government is responsible for the other German states – it is a city-state. Germany’s foreign policy, for example. Foreign This means that the territory of Hamburg inclu- policy includes advocating peace and provi- des no other towns or villages. ding humanitarian aid to those people who are The German cities of Bremen and Berlin are victims of war and civil strife. 3 Kalender Englisch Innen.indd 5 17.04.17 23:05 Hamburg is divided into seven city districts, each with a district office Bezirk Hamburg-Nord Kümmellstraße 5–7 Bezirk Wandsbek Schloßstraße 60 Bezirk Eimsbüttel Wandsbek Grindelberg 66 Hamburg- Eimsbüttel Nord Bezirk Altona Platz der Republik 1 Altona Bezirk Hamburg-Mitte Hamburg-Mitte Klosterwall 8 Harburg Bergedorf Bezirk Bergedorf Wentorfer Straße 38 Bezirk Harburg Harburger Rathausplatz 1 Kalender Englisch Innen.indd 6 17.04.17 23:05 Hamburg has seven Districts Each district has a district office and a district council The city-state of Hamburg has no other towns There are many things you can and must do Bezirksversammlungen are not parliaments – or communities. Rather, it is divided into city at the Bezirksämter. This is where you register they do not make laws. Laws for the city of districts. Ethiopa’s capital city Addis Abeba, for when you move into your own apartment, or Hamburg and its districts are made by the example, has a similar structure. It is divided when a child is born. To have a legal marriage in Hamburg state parliament, the Hamburgische into ten city districts called "subcities." Germany, you can be married at the Bezirksamt. Bürgerschaft. Hamburg is divided into seven Bezirke – dis- And if you have become a German citizen, this tricts. Above is a map of Hamburg showing is where you will pick up your German identity You can learn more about the work done by each Bezirk. papers, and where you can have them renewed. the Bezirksversammlungen in the brochure The social management at your residence can "Ihr wählt die Bürgerschaft – Ihr wählt die Be- Hamburg’s seven Bezirke are: tell you which important things you need to zirksversammlung." This brochure (in German) Hamburg-Mitte, Altona, Eimsbüttel, Ham- take care of at your Bezirksamt.