Patron goddess of Hamburg

The figure of Hammonia as patron goddess of Hamburg first appears in art and literature in the 18th century. Up until the Reformation, the city's patroness had been the Virgin Mary.

Hammonia is a tall and beautiful goddess who watches over Hamburg. She is usually shown wearing a crown in the form of a city wall surmounted by towers; she may also hold the city's coat of arms, a ship's anchor, etc. She is said to represent the values of Hamburg: freedom, peace, tolerance, prosperity, harmony, welfare and free trade.

Hammonia in literature and music

Hamburg’s Anthem, the Hamburg-Lied or Hamburg-Hymne was written in 1828 by Georg Nikolaus Bärmann. Deutschland: Ein Wintermärchen http://www.pos1.info/8/8wint.htm#1_0_3 (Germany: A Winter’s Tale) by Heinrich Heine

Heinrich Heine

Christian Johann Heinrich Heine was one of the most significant German poets of the 19th century. He was also a journalist, essayist, and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of Lieder by composers such as Robert Schumann...

 includes her. The goddess is in Heines encounter the fat, tipsy and sentimental daughter of Charlemagne

Charlemagne

Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...

 and a "haddock queen". Hammonia also figures large in Wolf Biermann's Deutschland Ein Wintermaerchen.

Hammonia statue

In 1888 her statue and that of a young Germania were raised on the Brooksbrücke (Brook’s Bridge) to welcome Emperor Wilhelm II as he opened the Freihafen (Free Port). Shortly after the end of WWII, both statues disappeared without a trace. It took almost 60 years for the city to see the return of their patron goddess: since 2003 a new statue of Hammonia has overlooked the port, and this time she is accompanied by Europa. Both sculptures has been created 2003 by the German sculptor Jörg Plickat.

Ships named Hammonia

was also the name of a series of 5 ocean-going vessels owned by the Hamburg-American Line, a predecessor of the modern Hapag-Lloyd

Hapag-Lloyd

Hapag-Lloyd is a German transportation company comprising a cargo container shipping line, Hapag-Lloyd AG, which in turn owns other subsidiaries such as Hapag-Lloyd Ships and a cruise line, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises which is now integrated into TUI AG, Hanover...

. The ships were built in 1854, 1867, 1881, 1909, and 1965. The fifth ship, a freighter, is still in service. Several of the earlier ships carried trans-atlantic passengers and played a role in German immigration to the United States.

External links

• The Statue of Hammonia
• Heinrich Heine: Deutschland. Ein Wintermärchen
• Photo of the second Hammonia vessel
• History of the Hamburg-America Line including the 5 Hammonia vessels