The villages of Hamburg, Ntilini, Bodium and Bell have a unique history. They are situated in an area which was involved in confrontation between the Xhosa people moving South and the Boer and British moving North. The conflict arose predominantly over land for grazing for cattle of both groups. Indeed Hamburg along with the neighboring villages Bodium and Bell was founded by the British government to protect the then frontier of the colony the border of which was the Keiskamma River.

In 1857 and 1858 the British government sent soldiers from the German Foreign Legion to settle in the area. These Settlers found the conditions extremely harsh and many of them drifted into towns. Some stayed and are remembered by the elderly people in Hamburg to this day.

Some remnants of original German houses and gravesites can still be seen. Slowly over the years Xhosa Farmers moved into the area and took over the allotments the Germans left. There are some Black Families that have owned Land for more than a hundred years.

From the beginning of the twentieth centaury until the 1970's Hamburg grew into a popular white Holiday resort and fishing Mecca. By the late 1970's the South African Nationalist Government had bought out nearly all the white owned properties and given them to the Ciskei government. Hamburg became part of the Ciskei and its popularity as a white holiday resort waned, as did the wealth of the village.

The Keiskamma River still plays a very central role in the livelihood of the local People. Subsistence fishing supplements the diet of many and occasionally provides a little money when fish can be sold. Grunter, Springers, Copperheads, macreal, cob and steenbrass are all excellent eating fish. However with few local sources of income, and the small- scale farming typical of the region unable to meet the needs of the population, a huge burden is placed on the natural resources of the area. Wood from the local indigenous forests is chopped for fire wood and a continual removal of oysters, cockles and abalone is denuding the coastline. Abalone poaching, with its promise of quick cash rewards, is attractive to many despite serious risks of fines, imprisonment and drowning. Small scale enterprises in the area are dogged by lack of infrastructure and access to potential markets.

The beauty, rich history and long-term, settled nature of the population give Hamburg enormous potential for development. The Keiskamma Trust is striving to ensure that Hamburg and the surrounding areas envisage this potential.