Wilhelmsburg, Hamburg

Wilhelmsburg
Quarter of Hamburg
Aerial photo of the island Wilhelmsburg
Coat of arms
Wilhelmsburg
Location of Wilhelmsburg
Coordinates: 53°29′42″N 10°00′40″E / 53.49500°N 10.01111°E / 53.49500; 10.01111Coordinates: 53°29′42″N 10°00′40″E / 53.49500°N 10.01111°E / 53.49500; 10.01111
Country	Germany
State	Hamburg
City	Hamburg
Borough	Hamburg-Mitte
Area
• Total	35.3 km2 (13.6 sq mi)
Population (31.12.2006)
• Total	49,132
• Density	1,400/km2 (3,600/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Dialling codes	040
Vehicle registration	HH

Wilhelmsburg (Low German: Willemsborg) is a quarter (Stadtteil) of Hamburg, Germany within the borough (Bezirk) of Hamburg-Mitte. It is situated on the homonymous island between the Northern and Southern branches of the Elbe river (Norderelbe and Süderelbe), together with the other quarters of Steinwerder, Veddel and Kleiner Grasbrook. The latter almost exclusively consists of facilities of the port of Hamburg. The four quarters are technically all islands of their own, as they are all separated by their own dams. In 2006 the population was 49,132.

In 1642, George William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg acquired three islets in the river Elbe and connected them by means of dams. The resultant island was named Wilhelmsburg in his honour.

In 1705, the Principality of Lüneburg passed on to the Electorate of Hanover, and Wilhelmsburg became part of the Hanoverian state, which then subsequently became the Prussian Province of Hanover in 1866. In 1925, the Prussian authorities designated Wilhelmsburg as a city district, and merged it with nearby Harburg two years later to form the city of Harburg-Wilhelmsburg.

In 1937, Harburg-Wilhelmsburg, along with the cities from the Prussian Province of Schleswig-Holstein, Altona and Wandsbek, was annexed to Hamburg in the Greater Hamburg Act.