:For the quarter and the train station, see Harburg (quarter) and Hamburg-Harburg station.Harburg (UN/LOCODE: DE HBU) is a borough of the city of Hamburg, Germany and a quarter in this borough. The borough Harburg lies on the southern shores of the river Elbe and covers parts of the port of Hamburg, residential and rural areas and some research institutes. In 2006 the population of the borough was 201,119.

History

Until 1937 Harburg belonged to the Prussian Province of Hanover, where it was the capital of the district of Harburg. In 1927 it was merged with the nearby city of Wilhelmsburg to form the city of Harburg-Wilhelmsburg. Following the Greater Hamburg Act Harburg, together with other cities such as Altona, was incorporated into the city of Hamburg. Despite its incorporation into Hamburg, Harburg continued to be the district capital of the Hanoverian district of Harburg. In 1944, the district capital was transferred to Winsen (Luhe).

On January 1, 2007 the Ortsämter (Precincts) were dissolved and the organisation of all boroughs of Hamburg was restructured. In the borough Harburg to the former precinct Kerngebiet Harburg (central area) had belonged the quarters Eißendorf, Gut Moor, Harburg, Heimfeld, Langenbek, Marmstorf, Neuland, Rönneburg, Sinstorf and Wilstorf. The quarters Altenwerder, Cranz, Francop, Hausbruch, Moorburg, Neuenfelde and Neugraben-Fischbek belonged to the precinct Süderelbe (south of river Elbe).

On March 1, 2008 Harburg's quarter Wilhelmsburg was transferred to the borough Hamburg-Mitte due to a law of Hamburg.

Geography

In 2006 according to the statistical office of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein, the borough Harburg has a total area of 160.6 km² and the quarter Harburg has an area of 3.9 km².

Administrative divisions

Like the other boroughs of Hamburg, Harburg is divided into quarters. They are:

Demographics

In 2006 in the borough were living 201,119 people. The population density was 1,253 people per km². 18.9% were children under the age of 18, and 18.7% were 65 years of age or older. 20.1% were resident aliens. 12,785 people were registered as unemployed.Residents registration office, source: statistical office Nord of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein (2006) In 1999 there were 94,273 households out of which 23.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 40% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.11.Source: statistical office Nord of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein (1999)Population by year
In 2006 there were 24,900 criminal offences in borough (124 crimes per 1000 people).State Investigation Bureaux (Landeskriminalamt), source: statistical office Nord of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein (2006)
These numbers include the Harburg quarter.

Diet of the borough

Simultaneously with elections to the state parliament (Bürgerschaft), the Bezirksversammlung is elected as representatives of the citizens. It consists of 51 representatives. See also: Boroughs of Hamburg

Elections

Elections were held in Hamburg on 24 February 2008. The five parties having more than 5 percent in recent polls (minimum to qualify) are the conservative CDU, the social-democratic SPD, the ecologist Green Party (GAL), the left-wing Die Linke and liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP). The voter participation were 54.6%.

Education

The borough has 32 elementary schools and 26 secondary schools (e.g. Friedrich-Ebert-Gymnasium) including 3 elementary schools and 4 secondary schools in the quarter Harburg.
The Hamburg University of Technology has an international reputation for its engineering faculties.

Infrastructure

Health systems

There were 316 physicians in private practice and 48 pharmacies in 2006.

Transportation

Railway station Hamburg-Harburg

The borough and the quarter are serviced by the rapid transit system of the city train with several stations. The Hamburg-Harburg railway station is also a station for long-distance passenger trains for the German railway company.

According to the Department of Motor Vehicles (Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt), in the borough Harburg were 69,262 private cars registered (346 cars/1000 people).Source: statistical office Nord of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein (2006)