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Hamburg Parliament
The Hamburg Parliament (German: Hamburgische Bürgerschaft; literally “Hamburgish Citizenry” or, more poetically, “Hamburgish Burgessry”) is the unicameral legislature of the German state of Hamburg according to the constitution of Hamburg. As of 2025 there are 121 sitting members, representing 17 electoral districts. The parliament is situated in the city hall Hamburg Rathaus and is part of the Government of Hamburg.
The parliament is among other things responsible for the law, the election of the Erster Bürgermeister (First Mayor) for the election period and the control of the Senate (cabinet).
The President of the Hamburg Parliament is the highest official person of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg.
Its members are elected in universal, direct, free, equal and secret elections every five years.
Bürgerschaft (literally citizenry) is a term in use since the Middle Ages to refer to the male inhabitants of Hamburg with citizenship. A committee of the landowning class within the city, called Erbgesessene Bürgerschaft, was formed out of this group in the 15th century to consult with the city's ruling councillors (Ratsherren; later called the "Senate of Hamburg" following the Roman example), and to be consulted by them.
The city council, in early times supposedly elected by male citizens, had turned into an autocratic body restaffing its vacancies by coöptation. The system of coöptating seats was prone to corruption and it came to several major struggles in the following decades. The first relevant document organising power and tasks of citizenry and the city council (government), which was traditionally dominated by the local merchants, dates back to 1410 and is named Erster Rezess (roughly: The first Settlement, literally the agreement reached before parting [Lat. recedere] of the negotiating partners).
The Erster Rezess came about after the city council (Senate, no parliament but the government) had cited and arrested Heyne Brandes, a burgher of Hamburg. Brandes had claims due against John IV, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg from a credit which Brandes had granted earlier. Brandes had taken the defaulting duke, during his visit in Hamburg in 1410, to task and dunned him in a way the duke considered insulting. The duke complained to the senate, which then interrogated Brandes. He admitted the dunning, and thus the senate arrested him. This caused a civic uproar of Hamburgers.
"In Hamburg as in other cities, the parishes ... had been not only church districts but also municipal political districts since the Middle Ages. They ... formed four incorporated bodies (Petri, Nikolai, Katharinen, Jacobi) in which the "allodial" (property-owning) burghers and the heads of guilds – thus only a fraction of the male population – were entitled to vote." The enfranchised citizens, grouped along their parishes, then elected from each of the then four parishes 12 representatives (deacons), the Council of the Forty-Eighters (die Achtundvierziger), who on Saint Lawrence Day (August 10) stipulated with the senate the Recess of 1410 (later called Erster Rezess).
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Hamburg Parliament
The Hamburg Parliament (German: Hamburgische Bürgerschaft; literally “Hamburgish Citizenry” or, more poetically, “Hamburgish Burgessry”) is the unicameral legislature of the German state of Hamburg according to the constitution of Hamburg. As of 2025 there are 121 sitting members, representing 17 electoral districts. The parliament is situated in the city hall Hamburg Rathaus and is part of the Government of Hamburg.
The parliament is among other things responsible for the law, the election of the Erster Bürgermeister (First Mayor) for the election period and the control of the Senate (cabinet).
The President of the Hamburg Parliament is the highest official person of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg.
Its members are elected in universal, direct, free, equal and secret elections every five years.
Bürgerschaft (literally citizenry) is a term in use since the Middle Ages to refer to the male inhabitants of Hamburg with citizenship. A committee of the landowning class within the city, called Erbgesessene Bürgerschaft, was formed out of this group in the 15th century to consult with the city's ruling councillors (Ratsherren; later called the "Senate of Hamburg" following the Roman example), and to be consulted by them.
The city council, in early times supposedly elected by male citizens, had turned into an autocratic body restaffing its vacancies by coöptation. The system of coöptating seats was prone to corruption and it came to several major struggles in the following decades. The first relevant document organising power and tasks of citizenry and the city council (government), which was traditionally dominated by the local merchants, dates back to 1410 and is named Erster Rezess (roughly: The first Settlement, literally the agreement reached before parting [Lat. recedere] of the negotiating partners).
The Erster Rezess came about after the city council (Senate, no parliament but the government) had cited and arrested Heyne Brandes, a burgher of Hamburg. Brandes had claims due against John IV, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg from a credit which Brandes had granted earlier. Brandes had taken the defaulting duke, during his visit in Hamburg in 1410, to task and dunned him in a way the duke considered insulting. The duke complained to the senate, which then interrogated Brandes. He admitted the dunning, and thus the senate arrested him. This caused a civic uproar of Hamburgers.
"In Hamburg as in other cities, the parishes ... had been not only church districts but also municipal political districts since the Middle Ages. They ... formed four incorporated bodies (Petri, Nikolai, Katharinen, Jacobi) in which the "allodial" (property-owning) burghers and the heads of guilds – thus only a fraction of the male population – were entitled to vote." The enfranchised citizens, grouped along their parishes, then elected from each of the then four parishes 12 representatives (deacons), the Council of the Forty-Eighters (die Achtundvierziger), who on Saint Lawrence Day (August 10) stipulated with the senate the Recess of 1410 (later called Erster Rezess).