> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://alsterrunde.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # All Too Near: How Altona Became Hamburg's Danish Rival - URL: https://alsterrunde.com/all-too-near-how-altona-became-hamburgs-danish-rival/ - Published: 2026-09-28T05:00:22.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-28T07:15:32.000Z - Description: A walking tour led me into the story of Altona, the Danish-ruled city that grew beside Hamburg by offering freedoms its powerful neighbour did not. - Author: Mert Bulan - Tags: History It was around the time I was marking my fifth year in Hamburg when I realised that I did not actually know that much about the city. At first, I thought about visiting the Museum of Hamburg History, but then I found out that it was closed for a major renovation and modernisation project. So I decided to try something else. Maybe if I saw Hamburg as a tourist and joined a guided walk, I could learn about its history while also connecting that history to places I already knew. After some research, I found [Robin and the Tourguides](https://www.robinandthetourguides.de/en/home/?ref=alsterrunde.com), a group that offers free walking tours in German and English. The tours are free to join, and you can leave a tip at the end if you want. I booked their Historic Centre tour, which started in front of the Rathaus and ended at St. Michael's Church. It lasted around two hours, and I really enjoyed it. Our guide was from California and had been living in Hamburg for more than a decade. The route stayed with me. Later, when I created a one-day tour for [Franzbrötchen](https://franzbroetchen.app/?ref=alsterrunde.com), my Hamburg city super app, I used parts of it as inspiration. Since I had enjoyed the first tour, I booked another one, this time about the harbour and St. Pauli. It started at Landungsbrücken and ended at Große Freiheit 36, the music venue that also houses the Kaiserkeller. In 1960, a small group from Liverpool called the Beatles played there for 56 nights. This second tour became much more important to me than I had expected. It was the first time I heard the legend behind the name Altona. It was also the first time I learned that Altona had not been part of Hamburg until 1937, and that for centuries it had been Hamburg's rival. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/alsterrunde/content/images/2026/09/IMG_2219.webp) The best-known story says that Hamburg's innkeepers complained about a competing tavern just outside the city boundary because it was *all to nah*, Low German for "all too near." Over time, the phrase supposedly became Altona. Recently, the old legend came back to me, and I decided to dig deeper. That took me back to 1640, and to a time when Altona and Hamburg were not two parts of the same city, but close neighbours competing for people, business and access to the Elbe. ## When Altona Became Danish Just before 1640, Altona was a small but growing settlement of a few thousand people. It belonged to the Counts of Schauenburg as part of the [County of Holstein-Pinneberg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holstein-Pinneberg?ref=alsterrunde.com). When the last count, Otto V, died without an heir in 1640, the territory was divided. [Christian IV](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian%5FIV%5Fof%5FDenmark?ref=alsterrunde.com), King of Denmark and Duke of Holstein, took control of the part that included Altona. The Danish crown had long been competing with Hamburg for trade on the Lower Elbe. In 1664, Christian IV's successor, [Frederik III](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick%5FIII%5Fof%5FDenmark?ref=alsterrunde.com), gave Altona city rights as well as commercial and customs privileges. The aim was clear: Altona should grow into a serious trading city beside Hamburg. That decision changed its future. Hamburg at that time was not especially open to newcomers. Lutheranism dominated public religious life, citizenship was difficult to obtain, and the guilds controlled who could work in many trades. Altona offered something different. In fact, this had started even before Danish rule. The Counts of Schauenburg had already allowed Mennonites, Reformed Christians and Catholics to practise their faith, and had given some settlers the freedom to work outside the guild system. Under the Danish crown, these rights were confirmed and extended. Jewish residents also received protection and the right to build a religious community. This gave Altona a simple but strong advantage. People who faced religious limits or trade restrictions elsewhere could settle there, work and worship more freely. Its harbour, tax and customs privileges also helped it attract business that might otherwise have gone to Hamburg. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/alsterrunde/content/images/2026/09/DEU_Altona_COA.svg.webp) ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/alsterrunde/content/images/2026/09/DEU_Hamburg_COA.svg-2.webp) Altona vs. Hamburg Altona's coat of arms reflects this idea of openness. Granted by Frederik III together with the city charter, it shows an open gate with three towers above the Elbe. Hamburg's coat of arms, by comparison, is commonly shown and understood as a castle with a closed gate. Whether or not the two were designed as direct opposites, the contrast fits the story of the rival cities very well. The Altona coat of arms can still be seen on public buildings, monuments and old fountains around the district. ## Crossing into the City of Freedom ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/alsterrunde/content/images/2026/09/IMG_2211.webp) Nobistor One place where you can see Altona's coat of arms is the surviving boundary post at [Nobistor](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobistor?ref=alsterrunde.com), near the western end of the Reeperbahn. The cast-iron post was placed at this location in 1848 and once marked the crossing between Hamburg's St. Pauli suburb and the independent city of Altona. For centuries, travellers passed from one territory into the other here. The post also carries the monogram of the Danish king Christian VIII. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/alsterrunde/content/images/2026/09/IMG_2214.webp) Große Freiheit street Only a few metres away, you can turn into [Große Freiheit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gro%C3%9Fe%5FFreiheit?ref=alsterrunde.com). I used to assume that the street got its name from its modern nightlife. Today it is full of bars, music clubs and table-dancing and strip venues. But the name is much older. Long before Große Freiheit became known for nightlife, it referred to something more serious: the freedom to worship and to work outside the religious and guild restrictions found in Hamburg. The street was part of Altona then, although it belongs to St. Pauli today. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/alsterrunde/content/images/2026/09/IMG_2223.webp) St. Joseph Church This also explains why there is a Catholic church on the same street. The present St. Joseph Church was built between 1718 and 1723 after an earlier Catholic chapel was destroyed when Swedish troops burned much of Altona in 1713\. That earlier chapel was the first Catholic church built in northern Europe after the Reformation. The current baroque church continued that history and is now the oldest Catholic church in Hamburg. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/alsterrunde/content/images/2026/09/IMG_2227.webp) Große Freiheit 75 If you keep walking along Große Freiheit, you will also see the former Mennonite community buildings at numbers 73 and 75\. The pastor's house at number 75 dates from 1772, while the community building at number 73 was built in 1850\. The Mennonite church that once stood behind them was destroyed during the Second World War. Many of Altona's early Mennonites had come from the Netherlands after facing religious persecution under Spanish Catholic rule and the Inquisition. In Altona, they became craftspeople, merchants, shipowners and whalers. Their old buildings are another reminder that the freedom promised here was both religious and economic. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/alsterrunde/content/images/2026/09/IMG_2232.webp) Jewish Cemetery Altona A few hundred metres away is the [Jewish Cemetery Altona](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%BCdischer%5FFriedhof%5FAltona?ref=alsterrunde.com) on Königstraße. It was established in 1611, almost thirty years before Danish rule began. The cemetery contains both Portuguese-Sephardic and German-Ashkenazi sections. The first Sephardic burial took place in 1611, and the Ashkenazi community acquired land beside it soon afterwards. Both communities included people whose families had experienced discrimination, expulsion or forced conversion elsewhere in Europe. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/alsterrunde/content/images/2026/09/IMG_2243.webp) Hauptkirche St. Trinitatis Across from the cemetery stands the Hauptkirche St. Trinitatis. The present baroque church was built and inaugurated in 1742 and 1743\. Its tower was designed as a landmark for Altona and stood in clear visual competition with Hamburg's church skyline. The sandstone portals still carry the monograms of the Danish kings Christian V and Christian VI. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/alsterrunde/content/images/2026/09/IMG_2241.webp) The Kingdom of Denmark’s royal crown and Christian V's monogram Within only a few hundred metres, Altona had a Catholic church, Mennonite buildings, a Lutheran main church and a Jewish cemetery. This gives a clear idea of the diversity that made the city attractive. When Altona received city rights in 1664, it had around 3.000 residents. By 1710, it had about 12.000 and was already the second-largest city in the Danish monarchy after Copenhagen. ## What Danish Rule Left Behind ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/alsterrunde/content/images/2026/09/IMG_2246.webp) The Palmaille The Danish period also left a strong mark on Altona's architecture. A good place to see it is the [Palmaille](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmaille?ref=alsterrunde.com). The street was first laid out in 1638 or 1639 as a course for the fashionable ball game [*pall-mall*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pall-mall?ref=alsterrunde.com), only a year or two before Danish rule began. Under the Danish monarchs, it changed from a recreational avenue into one of Altona's most prestigious streets. Wealthy merchants and officials built their homes there, with the Elbe nearby. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/alsterrunde/content/images/2026/09/IMG_2249.webp) Palmaille 116 One of the best surviving examples is the narrow house at Palmaille 116, built in 1803 and 1804 by the Danish architect [Christian Frederik Hansen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian%5FFrederik%5FHansen?ref=alsterrunde.com) as his own home. Its simple façade, balanced proportions and clean classical lines show the neoclassical style that Hansen later used in major buildings in Copenhagen. The house is more than a reminder of Altona's former wealth. It is also an architectural link between the port city and the wider cultural world of the Danish monarchy. At the western end of the Palmaille stands Altona's Rathaus. The central part of the building began as Altona's first main railway station. The [Christian VIII Baltic Railway](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altona-Kiel%5FRailway%5FCompany?ref=alsterrunde.com) between Altona and Kiel opened in 1844\. Before the railway, the journey by coach took about twelve hours. The first train journey took around three. The railway connected the Elbe with the Baltic and showed the economic ambitions of the late Danish monarchy. Decades later, after a new station had been built farther north, the old station was expanded and converted into Altona's Rathaus. It opened in that role in 1898. ## From Denmark to Prussia Danish rule in Altona ended in 1864, when Denmark lost the [Second Schleswig War](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second%5FSchleswig%5FWar?ref=alsterrunde.com) against Prussia and Austria. After a short period of joint Prussian and Austrian control, Altona became part of Prussia in 1867\. It remained a separate city for another seventy years. That independence ended with the [Greater Hamburg Act](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater%5FHamburg%5FAct?ref=alsterrunde.com), passed by the Nazi government in 1937\. Altona was transferred to Hamburg, and in 1938 it formally lost its status as a separate city. The Rathaus reflects both the Danish and Prussian periods. The core of the building began as a railway station under Danish rule, but most of what we see today was added during its conversion under Prussian rule. Its emblem still shows Altona's open city gate above the Elbe. Above the main entrance, a relief shows a family in a boat on stormy water, guided and protected by a winged figure. It is commonly understood as Altona making its way through difficult times. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/alsterrunde/content/images/2026/09/IMG_2269.webp) Altona Rathaus Directly in front of the Rathaus stands the Kaiser Wilhelm I monument, which was unveiled in 1898, the same year the Rathaus opened. The central figure shows the emperor on horseback. At its base, a young man represents the strength of the German Empire, while two women represent Schleswig and Holstein. Like the later additions to the Rathaus, the monument belongs to Altona's Prussian period. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/alsterrunde/content/images/2026/09/IMG_2288.webp) Stuhlmann Fountain A little farther along Platz der Republik stands the [Stuhlmann Fountain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuhlmannbrunnen?ref=alsterrunde.com), one of Altona's most impressive monuments. I have passed along Max-Brauer-Allee beside the park many times, but I never noticed the fountain because it is hidden behind the trees. Two centaurs fight over a huge fish. The scene is widely understood as a symbol of the long rivalry between Altona and Hamburg over fishing, fish processing and trade. The fountain was unveiled in 1900, long after Danish rule had ended, but it remembers the centuries when Altona was Hamburg's independent and successful competitor. ## Traces of the Old Border ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/alsterrunde/content/images/2026/09/IMG_2296.webp) Grenzstein at Schulterblatt Altona is now part of Hamburg, and the old border is easy to cross without even noticing it, although some traces are still visible. Around the Schanze, especially along Schulterblatt, old stones marked "A|H" remain in the pavement and show where the border between Altona and Hamburg once ran. Together with the boundary post at Nobistor, they make the old division easier to imagine. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/alsterrunde/content/images/2026/09/6.5_-Display.webp) The border stones of Hamburg coming to the [Franzbrötchen](https://franzbroetchen.app/?ref=alsterrunde.com) app in the upcoming update The old border belongs to the past, but Denmark is still present in Hamburg in a more direct way. [The Danish Seamen’s Church](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%A4nische%5FSeemannskirche%5FHamburg?ref=alsterrunde.com), Benediktekirken, stands on Ditmar-Koel-Straße near the harbour. It holds services, concerts and community events throughout the year, while its popular Christmas market offers Danish food, sweets, decorations and gifts. After reading so much about the Danish period in Altona, visiting the market has become a must for me this Christmas. ## Enjoyed this post? 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