HAMBURG
122
HAMBURG
Gerhard II, of Lippe (1219-5S), the see was finally
removed, in 1223, to Bremen, whence Bezzelin Ale-
brand (see above) had transferred it to Hamburg.
The ecclesiastical importance of Hamburg thence- forward declined with the rapid growth of its com- merce and its consequent political development, es- pecially after the city had joined the Hanseatic League, in 1255. Despite temporary improvements, the condition of Hamburg on the whole grew worse from year to year, and at last the popular discontent with the clergy became so great that the Reformation, generally accepteii by the cities, was here welcomed with eagerness. It entered Hamburg in 1525, under the leadershii) of Magister Sticfcl, of the apostate Min- orite Kempe, the blacksmith Ziegenhagen, and others. As early as 1528 the faithful Catholic clergy were forced to leave the city, for which new religious regu- lations were made by Johann Bugenhagen, generally known as Doctor Pommer. The last Mass publicly celel)rated at Hamburg was on 15 August, 1529. Catholic services in the cathedral were prohibited, while the cathedral and the convents and monasteries were secularized. The stone cathedral built, in 1037, by Bezzelin Alebrand remained in the possession of the archliishops of Bremen until the Treaty of ^\'est- phalia placed it in the possession of Hanover. It was given back to the city in 1802, but in 1805 was con- demned as unsafe and was razed to the ground. The " Long Recess" Decree of 1529 commanded strict ol> servance of the Lutheran creed and the prosecution and punishment of all who did not conform; while the Protestant preachers, both in speech and WTiting, insisted upon rigorous enforcement of that decree.
Nevertheless, Catholic merchants and residents managed to re-establish themselves gradually, and as early as 1581 incorporated themselves as an inde- pendent community under the protection of the em- peror, and found a home in the neighbouring city of Altona. Emperor Rudolf 1 1 issued an edict protecting Catholics from the molestation and persecution of the Hamburg magistrates. Relying upon this edict, the Jesuits, led by the historian, Michael of Isselt, began missionary work. In spite of many obstacles they succeeded in opening two chapels for religious services, one in the palace of the French envoy, the other in that of Queen Christina of Sweden, who had been con- verted to the Catholic Faith. The envoys from the courts of Catholic rulers furthered the Catholic cause by lending it valuable protection and influence. In 1671 Leopold I sent a most powerful protector in the person of an imperial minister resident. The chapel in his legation served the Catholics of Hamburg for more than a hundred years as their parochial church, until, on 10 September, 1719, a mob desecrated and destroyed it. During the era of Illuniiiiism the hatred against Catholics was stirred up on the one hand by the Lutheran preachers, who, in 1777, abandoned all use of ecclesiastical vestments, and on the other hand, especially after 1770, by many apostate priests and monks who sought and found asylum at Hamburg. Among these latter was the ex-.\ugustinian F. A. Fidler, of Vienna, who con<hicted a particularly vehe- ment " Antipapistisches Journal ", in which he reviled the Catholics of Hamburg, until he was taken into the service of the Duke of Mecklenburg as consistorial councillor and superintendent.
In 17.S4 (he Catholics of Hamburg were officially recognized by the ci\ic authorities and were legally authorized to celebrate Divine worship. In 1792 they became independent of the parish of Altona, even in respect to church property. During the French occupation, in ISOfi and in 1810-14, the prefect of the Department of Elbemiindungen raised the mission to the rank of a parish, and in 1811 estab- lished a.sits parish church the chapel known as Little St. Michael's, which had grown out of the former chapel of the legation. The downfall of Napoleon
did not disturb these privileges. Religious liberty,
already fully estabhshed, was extended, in 1815, by
Article 16 of the Decrees of the Confederation, which
guaranteed civil equality to Catholics. This was also
guaranteed later on by the Constitution of 28 Septem-
ber, 1800. New dangers arose in 1821-24 and in
1839, when Gregory XVI sought to make Hamburg
the residence of the Vicar Apostolic of the Northern
Missions. These troubles, however, soon passed
away. The parish clergy for a long time suffered
from lack of means, so that at times only one resident
priest could be appointed. Not until 1831 was the
parish able to support two.
The first Catholic school was established in 1840. The support of the schools is a heavy burden on the faithful, as the State refuses aid to Catholic schools. In the last three decades, not only has the condition of the Catholics of HamlMirg greatly improved, but their numbers have materially increased. Of nearly 900,000 inhabitants, about 850,000 are Protestants, and .some 18,000 are Jews. The State of Hamburg consists of the Hanseatic Free City itself and what is known as the Vierlande, or Four Districts — i. e. the Geestland and Marschland, Bergedorf and Ritze- biittel, the last-named including Cuxhaven, the four W alddorfer , or forest hamlets, of Farmsen, Volksdorf, Wohldorf, and Grosshausdorf, in Holstein, Geesthacht in Lauenburg, Moorburg and Gudendorf in Hanover, and the islands of Neuwerk and Scharhorn. Not- withstanding the separation of Church and State, Protestant ecclesiastical affairs are suiiervised by the Senate. The Protestant population is divided into four church districts, witti 33 parish churches and 100 clergymen, under the government of a council and the synod. The 32,000 Catholics belong to the Vicariate Apostolic of the Northern Missions, under the Bishop of Osnabriick, who appoints the pastors. Non-Lutheran Christians are subject to a special board of control. Of the 28 places of worship in the city IS are Protestant, 5 Catholic, and 5 Hebrew. There are altogether 6 Catholic parishes: St. Michael, St. George, Eimsbiittel, Hammcrbrook, Rothen- burgsort, and Barmbck. The oldest parish church is that of St. Ansgar, which dates from the eighteenth century and was formerly known as Little St. Michael's. Next come St. Boniface's chapel, dating from 1892, St. Mary's church, built in 1893 in Roman- esque .style, by Giildenpfennig, with two steeples 200 feet high, St. Sophia's, built in 1900, by Beumer, in Early Gothic, and St. Joseph's, by the same architect, in 1901, in Late Gothic. There is another Catholic church at the emigrant piers of the Hamburg-.\meri- can Line, on the Veddel. Fifteen priests attend to the needs of these churches. According to the latest cen.sus (1905) there are altogether 143 elementary, or public, schools (Volhschulcn), and of these 6 are Catholic parochial schools. The secondary .schools include one Catholic high school for boys (Rcalscliule and Progyninatiium). Among the 50 girls' high schools two are Catholic, that of St. Johannis Klos- ter and that of the Ursuline Sisters. More than one- third of the children baptized as Catholics attend Protestant .schools and receive .scanty Catholic re- ligious instruction, in many cases none at all. The loss sustained every year by the Catholic Church in Hamburg in this way and through mixed marriages is very considerable. There are several Catholic chari- table institutions, among them St. Joseph's Convent (St. Josephstift) and St. Mary's Hospital (1864), con- ducted by the Borromean Sisters, a Cathohc orphan- age with .school attached. Towards the expenses of tlie Church in Hamburg the Boniface A.ssociation has contributed in all, since 1858, about half a million marks ($125,000). Voluntary contributions are the only other resource, and, as the German Catholics are generally poor, great sacrifices must be made for the preservation of the Faith. The social and charitable
