The German monetary system emerged gradually, in step with the progress of the country's unification. In 1618, the first German public bank was created, namely the Girobank in Hamburg. Paper money was first issued in 1706 in the Stolberg county. From 1875 to the beginning of World War II Reichsbank performed tasks typical of a central bank. The 1948 reform led to the restoration of central banking in the western part of Germany - first in the shape of Bank der Deutscher Länder, transformed in 1957 into Deutsche Bank. In the post-war period, with most countries having abandoned granting their central banks joint-stock company status as a warranty of independence, Bundesbank laid down standards of state-owned central bank independence. Gradually, with the rising position of the German economy and the progress of European integration, the responsibilities of the Bundesbank, extending well beyond Germany itself, became somewhat of a burden. From the German perspective, the establishment of the euro was an attempt to solve the problem. In the German Democratic Republic, the issuing bank role was performed first by Deutsche Notenbank (1948-68) and then by Staatsbank der DDR (1968-91).