Any birthday is worth a party, and the one Hamburg stages each year for its harbor is one of the best. The harbor is first mentioned in a document signed by Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa of the Holy Roman Empire on 7 May 1189. You can't get much of a better pedigree than that. That was what the clerk making the forgery thought, too. The document wasn't specifically aimed at the harbor, it was more a long list of privileges that supposedly had been granted to the city and specifically to its merchant ships and sailors.
The historical harbor in Hamburg is older and goes back at least into the 9th century. The harbor wasn't always in the same place, it moved to keep pace with the city's growth in population, economic power, and strategic importance. Success breeds envy and greed; in Hamburg's case these Christian emotions were those of the Archbishop of Bremen trying to line his pockets with the port city's riches. The conflict came to a head when the bishop asked for documentary proof of Hamburg's privileges in the 13th century.
19th century historians had suspected that someone in Hamburg might have helped the interests of the city by forgery. They had noticed that the document had been signed and dated in Neuburg on the Danube. Emperor Barbarossa on the other hand was in Regensburg on 7 May 1189. Probably a miracle; the Catholic Church should sanctify him for that, and Saint Barbarossa has a nice ring to it, too. They also noticed that the imperial seal was that of Emperor Frederick II Barbarossa.
Historians have many theories. One camp is of the opinion that the content of the document is pure invention to back up rights usurped by the city of Hamburg. A second camp is of the opinion that the document is a copy of a lost older document. A third group thinks that Emperor Barbarossa made the commitments verbally but died in the crusade before having them put to paper and that Hamburg asked the Imperial Court for confirmation thereof.
Hamburg is not bothered by the fake document or the discussions of historians. They want to tap into the tourist attraction the port offers in addition to the historical city. The 825th birthday in 2014 will be a welcome jubilee and we may expect a spectacle to mark it. If you haven't planned anything else in May, this is the party to attend. The festival will star on 9 May and end on 11 May with many spectacles on land and on water.
Is the event to be classified alongside the marketing of the wines of Chateau Talbot as a historical fraud? Hamburg doesn't take the document too seriously, and the harbor is older anyhow. They rather take the auspicious date for the possibility of warm weather than for reasons of historical interpretation. The celebration is a bit of fun with lots of fun to be had on three days.
Further reading
Emperor Frederick II: A Model Ruler?
Easter Eggs, Tithes,and Taxes
If Short on Facts, Then Invent: Marketing of Chateau Talbot
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