“The Elbe’s fury. Can you imagine it?” I ask my audience. We stand before the commemorative plaque. It marks the spot where Hamburg’s first public monument once stood. This wasn’t a statue of a king or a hero. No. This memorial. The Denkmal f\u00fcr das Hochwasser 1771. It honored a disaster. A devastating flood.
The summer of 1771 brought unusually heavy rains. The Elbe River swelled. It overflowed its banks. On July 8th. The Neuengamme dykes broke. Water surged into the surrounding areas. The Vier- und Marschlande. Hammerbrook. The flood threatened the city itself.
The water’s peak. It reached its highest point on July 21st. Right here. At the Deichtor. Just outside the city walls. Before receding. The flood’s extent was enormous. Over 23 kilometers by 15 kilometers of land was underwater. In Billwerder the water rose six meters high. Hamm. Horn. The Billwerder Ausschlag. All were flooded. Livestock drowned. Animals perished from starvation. The devastation was immense. The damage was estimated at 1.5 million Marks. A collection in Hamburg raised a mere 27340 Marks.
Three years later. In 1774 a monument was erected. It stood as a grim reminder. It marked the water’s highest point. This first public monument in Hamburg. It was an obelisk on a tiered base. Topped with an urn. A classic style. Common for mourning monuments. The obelisk bore an inscription. It detailed the flood’s reach. The date. July 21st 1771.
The Denkmal f\u00fcr das Hochwasser 1771 wasn’t just the first public monument in Hamburg. It held a place in European history too. It was only the second event monument in Europe. The first being a monument in London a century earlier.
The original monument had a short life. It was moved twice. Then in 1943. World War II bombings badly damaged it. It fell into disrepair and was eventually removed. Only this plaque remains. A stark reminder of the devastating flood. And of Hamburg’s resilience.