Until the middle of the 19th century only sooty, flickering oil lanterns light up the streets of Hamburg. That changes when wealthy citizens take the initiative:175 years ago on October 4th, the city got its first gas lanterns.
by Janine Kuehl
Dirty, narrow alleys where you can't see what dirt you're stepping into in the dark or who's lurking around the next corner:This is what Hamburg looked like in the first half of the 19th century. But in the course of the expansion of trade and industrialization, there was movement in urban design. Old buildings are increasingly being demolished. The Great Fire of 1842 finally destroyed a large part of Hamburg's old town. But the destruction harbors a huge opportunity:when it is rebuilt, the Hanseatic city can create a new infrastructure and advance modernization.
Gas company receives order for gas supply
By 1900, the Hamburg gas network for supplying lanterns and stoves had grown to around 600 kilometers.Under pressure from wealthy citizens, Hamburg is finally tackling the issue that has been up for discussion time and again since 1818:converting street lighting to gas lanterns. Around 1800, around 1,500 street lamps were lit in the city, which were fed with oil and blubber - that was more than in most other German cities at the time. But these lamps only give little and uneven light.
Oil and blubber:too cloudy and too expensive
As early as 1839, the Gas-Compagnie association, founded by wealthy citizens of Hamburg, made an offer to the Senate to introduce the gas supply. On March 28, 1843, the Hamburg Senate commissioned the Gas-Compagnie with the public gas supply for the next 30 years. Economic reasons also play a role in the decision:At 258,000 marks a year for oil and operating the lanterns, this technology has simply become too expensive. With gas, lighting "only" costs 180,000 marks.
"Hein mit den Gas" lights up his dance hall
Gas-powered streetlights are nothing new at this point. They have been shining in London since 1813. Some German cities also used this technique in the mid-19th century. In Hamburg, however, private individuals are the pioneers. The merchant J. G. Heise was already using gas light in his house on Gröningerstrasse in 1817. In 1823, the innkeeper Peter Ahrens installed gas lighting for his dance hall on Neustädter Straße - with gas that he distilled from hard coal in his cellar. People quickly speak of "Hein mit den Gas", which becomes the commonly used term "Hein Gas".
4. October 1845:First gas lanterns in the streets of Hamburg
So-called "Luchtenpüster" climb up the ladder in the evening and light every single gas lantern.In the summer of 1844, construction work begins on the gas station on Großer Grasbrook in the port of Hamburg. From here, a network of pipes will initially supply gas to the lanterns on the newly created main streets of the burned-down old town.
On October 4, 1845, the time had come:the first gas lanterns illuminated Johannisstraße near the town hall with a bright and uniform light. But just two weeks later, the innovation admired by the people of Hamburg comes to an abrupt end - a storm surge destroys the new gas works. However, this setback does not change the goal of providing the city with gas lighting.
Lindley plans flood-proof gas works
The Senate commissions William Lindley with the plans for a new gas plant. The English engineer made a name for himself with the construction of a modern water supply system in Hamburg. Safe from the flood, the new gasworks stands on stilts and, from September 1846, supplies a total of 2,020 gas lanterns in downtown Hamburg.
The English engineer William Lindley made a significant contribution to the modernization of Hamburg:he planned gas works, the water supply and much more.From the 1850s, public buildings were also lit with gas lamps. The switch from flickering, low-light-emitting oil lamps to bright, steady, and adjustable gas light is a big win for life in the city.
Gas stoves heat churches and private buildings
In the coming decades, the pipe network will grow to around 250 kilometers in length. 10,000 public and private lanterns reliably emit light. Industrial companies, the catering trade, but also wealthy private customers benefit from the supply. With the invention of the Bunsen burner in 1855, it was technically possible to use gas as a heating medium. Churches like St. Katharinen and the Michel can now be heated with gas stoves. Light and heat are finding their way into more and more public and private buildings. By 1864, the gas supply also reached the suburbs of Rothenburgsort, Horn, Barmbek, Winterhude and Eimsbüttel. In 1875 the Hamburger Gaswerke put a second coking plant into operation in Barmbek.
Association of Hamburg gas workers demands higher wages
In the middle of the 19th century there was no light on Hamburg's streets without the lamplighters - but the working conditions were precarious.While the gas network is growing and the profits of the Hamburg gas works are soaring, the working conditions of the gas workers are often precarious. Hard twelve-hour days bring wages that are barely enough to survive. From 1889, many workers joined together to form the Hamburger Gasarbeiter association. They demand higher wages, safer working conditions and permanent employment. Other trade unions, such as the Lantern Lighters Association, take care of the rights of the various professional groups.
Industrial action:strike by gas workers - without result
On May 1, 1890, a third of the gas workers were absent from work. In the days that followed, management attempted to lock out the workers to withdraw from the union. In addition, all workers who do not confirm in writing their withdrawal from the union are to be dismissed. As a result, all Hamburg gas workers go on strike on May 10th. After a 20-day absence, they are forced to return to work - without having enforced any of their demands. It was not until the city took over the gasworks under state administration in 1891 that the employees began to see improvements. Workers' committees achieve wage increases and bonus payments at the turn of the century.
Electric lighting in the houses
The network keeps growing. In 1903, the third large gas works, later called Tiefstack, went into operation in Billwerder. While indoor lighting gradually switched to electric bulbs from the 1880s, heaters and streetlights continued to run on gas. From 1906, coin-operated gas measuring systems made it possible to supply gas to poorer households at a price of 14 pfennigs per cubic meter.
Coal shortage and destruction in World War I and II
But things are not only going up. In December 1909 there was an explosion on Grasbrook, killing 20 people. When filling a new gas tank - the largest in Europe at the time - it tips over. The conditions are also difficult in times of war. A natural gas well discovered by chance in Neuengamme helps to keep supplies going during the First World War, despite a shortage of coal. During the Second World War, the gasworks - with the exception of Bergedorf - are badly damaged. Prisoners of war have to do forced labor in the coking plants.
Last gas lanterns switched to natural gas in 1981
After 1945, the pipe network is extended far into the surrounding area. But the time of the gas lantern will slowly but surely pass over the next few decades. In the 1960s, the gradual conversion from hard coal gas to natural gas began. In addition, the gasworks on the Grasbrook was again badly damaged in a storm surge and then shut down. The last gas lanterns are converted to natural gas in 1981. And even this is only a transition:In the meantime, only electric lanterns illuminate Hamburg's streets - often with modern LED technology. The Hamburger Gaswerke, which is now called Gasnetz Hamburg and has been in the hands of the city of Hamburg again since 2018, is still responsible for the gas supply in the Hanseatic city and parts of the surrounding area - albeit without street lighting being part of it.