Hamburg
(1813-1871)
The Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg was a German state since 1618. It was a member state of the Germanic Confederation between 1815 and 1866. After the Prussian-Austrian War, it became a member state of the North German Confederation in 1867. Hamburg became a member state of the German Empire in 1871.
Hamburg was a republic with the parliament having two chambers, the Senate and the Bürgerschaft. The Senate, which exercised the greater part of the executive power, was composed of eighteen life members. The Bürgerschaft elected the members of the Senate for life. There were two mayors. However, a chief Bürgermeister, called “Magnificence,” was chosen annually in secret ballot and had a two- year term limit. The Bürgerschaft consisted of 160 members who were elected using a unique three-tiered system. Eighty members were elected by secret ballot of all tax-paying citizens, 40 members by the owners of real estate within the city, and the “notables” directly elected the remaining 40 for a period of six years. The senate could veto all legislation except taxation; if the two bodies differed, the issue was referred to a court of arbitration. Hamburg had one representative in the Bundesrat and three deputies in the Reichstag.
In 1914, the population was approximately 1,099,000 of which 85 percent was Protestant. The republic was 415 km² in size. The soldiers were concentrated in Infanterie-Regiment Hamburg (2. hanseatisches) Nr. 76.