 Ebbo, Archbishop of Reims claimed to have built a baptistery in a small village in this area and this village was named after him "Ebbodorp", "Eppendorp" or "Eppendorf".In 845 Vikings came up the River Elbe and destroyed Hamburg, at that time a town of around 500 inhabitants.Two years later, Hamburg was united with Bremen as the Bishopric of Hamburg-Bremen.