 Hamburg experienced its fastest growth during the second half of the 19th century, when its population more than quadrupled to 800,000 as the growth of the city's Atlantic trade helped make it Europe's third-largest port.Construction of the port lead to the disappearance of several of the smaller of Hamburg's many rivers and channels, such as the Dradenau.A major outbreak of cholera in 1892 was very badly handled by the city government, which still retained an unusual degree of independence for a German city at the time.