Hamburg is a major port city situated on the Elbe River in northern Germany. 1,740,000 inhabitants make it Germany's second largest city. The Greater Hamburg Metropolitan Region has a population of 4 million. It is at the same time one of the 16 German Bundesländer (states).
Understand
Hamburg is a city-state; it values its status as a "free city", being as far as possible independent of other states that existed and exist in Germany. Nevertheless, during the centuries, Hamburg has always been an international city, not only because of its position in international trade, but also in political dimensions.
Traditionally one of the most important harbours in Europe and the world, the city takes great pride in its mercantile background, which built the city's wealth in the past centuries. From 1241 on it was member of the Hanseatic League, a mediæval trade monopoly over Northern Europe. In the 19th and beginning 20th century, millions left Europe on their way to the new world through Hamburg harbour. Today, the harbour ranks second in Europe and sixth to seventh world-wide. Consequently, one of Hamburg's taglines is "The Gate to the World" (derived from the city’s coat of arms, showing an argent city wall with a gate and crowned by three towers on a field of gules). Hamburg is known to be the richest metropolitan area in the European Union (just followed by Bruxelles and London).
The harbour is the heart of the city, however, Hamburg is one of the most important media hubs in Germany, too. Half of the nation's newpapers and magazines have their roots in Hamburg. And unknown even to some locals is the fact that, with one of the Airbus aircraft assembly plants, Hamburg is a major location of the world's aerospace industry, right after Seattle (USA) and Toulouse (France).
The mercantile background reflects in the city's architecture: the only palace in Hamburg is the town hall, house of the citizen's parliament and the senate. Apart from that, the city still has large quarters with expensive houses and villas, home to merchants and captains, surrounded by lots of green. Unfortunately, large parts of the city were destroyed during the devastating air raids of World War 2, killing tens of thousands and leaving more than a million homeless.
Hamburg still keeps its tradition of being an open, yet discreet city. Citizens of Hamburg, just like most Northern Germans, sometimes appear to be quite reserved at first, but once they get to know who they are dealing with, they'll be as warm and friendly as you'd wish.
The people of Hamburg are known as "Hamburgers" (pronounce the a like you're saying "ah", and it won't sound as silly). The beef patties on a bun were named after this city, where they presumably were invented. See also "frankfurter" (Frankfurt) and "wiener" (Wien, aka Vienna).
Get in
By plane
Airport Hamburg-Fuhlsbüttel (HAM)
Hamburg has the fourth-largest international airport in Germany, so arrival by plane is an obvious choice for those visiting from far away.
Hamburg airport is closed at nighttime. Flights which have suffered severe delays will be diverted to Hannover, Frankfurt or other German airports. It is therefore prudent to avoid booking flights due to land late in the day. But to my knowledge, this has not happened so far, so it is not a great worry. International flights are highly unlikley to be diverted as they are all scheduled to land well before the airport is closed for the night.
The airport---which is hugely popular with plane-spotters---is surrounded by Schrebergärten (meticulous maintained allotments), parklands and open greenspaces, criss-crossed by bicycle and walking trails. The popularity of this area is not only down to the many viewpoints, but also because Lufthansa Technik (Lufthansas maintenance service) operates a large hanger on the airport, which means that the site is visited by a variety of rare and interesting aircraft.
The airport has been thoroughly modernized with a new terminal, streamlined infrastructure and facilities that are by and large adequate, so you won't get lost. Depending on the gate your flight arrives at or leaves from, walking longer distances can be a problem.
Despite the fact that the airport is basically in the city, it isn't necessarily easy to reach. If you are in a hurry or feel like you can't be bothered, take a taxi - but be aware that this can be costly. Buses connect the airport to the central station, to Ohlsdorf and to Rahlstedt - you can change to regional trains and subways at all three, or national/international trains at the central station. Fare is roughly 2-3 Euros per person, depending on where you wish to go. Your journey is very likeley to take some time, as it is almost certain that your destination will include a change.
The bus shuttle, 'Airport Express', goes to the central station which is not covered by tickets for the public transport; you will have to pay the fare as you enter the bus: 5 Euros one-way; the trip will take about 25 minutes.
This situation is being addressed; part of the construction at the airport is for a new railway station which will hopefully result in much better connections to the city itself. The railway is expected to operate from 2008/09.
Airport "Hamburg-Lübeck" aka "Lübeck-Blankensee" (LBC)
As with many other destinations, the discount airline Ryan Air does not operate from Hamburg, as their naming scheme might indicate, but from Lübeck-Blankensee airport (not to confuse with Hamburg's suburb Blankenese), which is 65km from Hamburg via motorway A1. The second airline that offers flights to Lübeck is Wizz Air. Flights go to London Stansted (England), Shannon and Dublin (Ireland), Glasgow Prestwick (Scotland ), Stockholm Skavsta (Sweden), Milan Bergamo (Italy), Pisa (Italy) and Gdansk (Poland).
Buses connecting to the flights go from Hamburg's central bus station ("ZOB", adjacent to the main train station), cost 8 Euros and take about 1 hour and 10 minutes. The buses depart about 2 hours and 50 minutes before every Ryanair departure, meet every arrival and wait for delayed flights. Timetable is available on the bus company VHH's website. Free parking is available at the airport at car park "P3".
Hamburg-Finkenwerder Airport (XFW)
XFW airport in the suburb of Finkenwerder is actually not an airport in its usual meaning but part of Airbus' Finkenwerder aircraft plant and thus only accessible to Airbus employees. For them, two daily flights are available to/from Toulouse, but most of the time the runway is used for freight, be it plane parts (up to complete sections of passenger planes using the Beluga aircraft), be it the delivery of new planes.
The runway as well as the aircraft parking lot can be observated from the public street Neß-Hauptdeich (bus 150, stop Neuenfelde, Rosengarten, follows stop Airbus), tours of the Finkenwerder plant are available exclusively via Globetrotter (ca. 2 hours, 13 €, reservation required three to four weeks in advance).
As the airport is located near the city centre, it might be the quickest way to reach Hamburg. Airbus Finkenwerder is accessible by harbour ferries (nr. 68, leaving from Teufelsbrück) and buses (nr. 150, stop: Airbus).
Hamburg-Uetersen Airport (EDHE)
This airport is served by flights from several German islands. The only way to reach it is by taxi, the nearest railway station being Tornesch.
By train
Hamburg has five major stations: Hauptbahnhof (central station), Altona, Dammtor, Harburg, Bergedorf. Various types of train service are available.
Use the German railway's online trip planner to find connections to/from Hamburg and buy tickets.
By car
via the Autobahn:
Be prepared to pay for parking or park outside the city and use public transportation.
By bus
Buses serving other cities (regional, national and European destinations) arrive at or depart from Hamburg's central bus station ("ZOB") which is located near the central railway station (Hauptbahnhof) (2 minute walk). Destinations include Berlin (several times a day).
Buses to Lübeck depart from Wandsbek.
Get around
Public Transportation
Hamburg has a well developed public transportation system. Buses go around the clock. At night a special "Nachtbus" (night bus) service connects the outlying districts and the city centre. The buses depart and arrive at "Rathausmarkt" near the town hall and operate all through the night. Intracity train service runs from approximately 5 AM until 1 AM in the central city, but there is often not service past 11PM in outlying districts. On weekends it runs all night. See HVV - Hamburger Verkehrsverbund for lines and prices.
Vending machines in the rail stations (and at some bus stops) sell short distance, single ride, and day tickets. On the buses the driver will sell you what you need. Group tickets are also available. To buy week or longer tickets, go to Hauptbanhof, get passport photos in the automated photo booth, and buy your pass in the information office. Group tickets are also available.
Hamburg's public transit operates on the honor system. Red vested officials make spot checks, but aside from this you simply get on and off as you wish with no turnstiles or gates. The exception is late evening (after 9 pm) and Sundays on the buses, when the driver must check passengers' tickets.
Try to avoid rush-hours before 9 AM and 4-7 PM. You are not allowed to take bikes into subways before 9am and between 4pm and 6pm unless it is a folding bike model like a Dahon, Brompton, Bike Friday, etc... Folders are allowed on Hamburg public transit at any time of the day.
Six ferry services operate in the harbour and along the River Elbe as part of the regular public transport system. (Tip: Take ferry line 62 from Landungsbrücken to Finkenwerder and back to enjoy a scenic trip through the habour on day ticket.)
On the two Alster lakes, a ferry boat is travelling once every hour from Jungfernstieg in the city centre to Winterhuder Fährhaus. These boats are not in the general HVV ticket system, thus more expensive, however they offer a splendid view to some of the wealthiest neighbourhoods of Hamburg.
And if you are travelling to Hamburg using Niedersachsen ticket, then you have access to all the - HVV lines on the same.
Taxicabs
There is a good availability of taxis in Hamburg throughout the entire day, both at taxi stands and in the streets. The vehicles are all in the traditional ivory white colour. And yellow signs on the roof are switched on to indicate vacancies. The meter starts at € 2.20. A trip in the city area will be between € 6 and € 12. For a trip from the city to the airport expect to pay € 20 to € 25. Most taxis accept credit card payments. In fact all Taxis from Hansa Taxi (tel 211211) and Taxi Hamburg (tel 666666) accept credit and debit cards.
Railways
Hamburg has six S-Bahn (suburban) lines and three U-Bahn (subway) lines. Note that train doors don't open automatically: you have to press the red button on the door. The trains run above ground in much of the city, and in the winter you will be grateful for this feature.
All train platforms have signs showing the next train, where it is headed, and how many minutes until it arrives. Trains are described by a number and the final station. Note that the final station may vary: half of the S11 trains heading west go all the way to Wedel, but the other half only go as far as Blankenese. Also, all S-Bahn trains with one-digit numbers go via Landungsbrücken and Jungfernstieg and all S-Bahn trains with two-digit numbers go via Dammtor.
See
City Centre
Around Mönckebergstraße
The area west of Hamburg's central railway station is mainly a shopping area with the streets Spitaler Straße and Mönckebergstraße leading to Hamburg's town hall. Close to the Mönckebergstraße you find the churches St. Jacobi (at road Jakobikirchhof) and St. Petri (at road Bergstraße), two of Hamburg's five main churches. Directly beside St. Petri there is the Hubelhaus dating from the beginning of the 20th century as most buildings around, but looking much older.
Behind the Hubelhaus under the building of "Radio Hamburg" you can visit the remains of the bishops tower, from the 11th century. On the other side of the road, you can currently see excavations in progress, seeking the remains of the small fortress Hammaburg, which was erected in the 9th century giving Hamburg its name.
Around city hall
The Mönckebergstraße ends at Hamburg's impressive city hall ("Rathaus"). It was built 1897 out of sandstone in neo-Renaissance style having a 112 meters tower. Inside there are several magnificent halls used for representative purposes and sittings of government and parliament. These can be visited in guided tours (Mon-Thu: 10:00-15:15, Fri-Sun: 10:00-13:15, half-hourly in German, hourly in English and French. Closed during official events. Admission: EUR 2/0.50 adult/children.) A virtual tour with photos and German comments is available
here.
The building behind the city hall is Hamburg's House of Commerce ("Börse"). Between the buildings there is a little nice place called Rathaushof with its fountain Hygieia-Brunnen. The place in front of the city hall is the Rathausmarkt hosting many events especially in summer.
North of the Rathausmarkt you find white arches at a canal called Alsterarkaden. The whole area behind is full of indoor shopping arcades. The most well-known one is the Hanse Viertel.
Following the canal to the right and crossing the traditional shopping road Jungfernstieg you quickly get to the artificial lake Binnenalster. Boat tours take you to the even bigger artificial lake Außenalster directly behind the Binnenalster with lots of sailing boats in summer.
Around St. Nikolai
From the House of Commerce into the road Börsenbrücke you get to the house of the Patriotische Gesellschaft. Behind the building to the right there is the bridge Trostbrücke with the statues of Graf Adolf III and Bishop Ansgar on both sides. Following the water to left, there is Hamburg's oldest remaining bridge Zollenbrücke from the 17th century.
At the other side of the Trostbrücke there is the ruin of the church St. Nikolai. All five main churches of Hamburg were damaged in World War II. But in contrast to the other four St. Nikolai has not been re-erected making it a memorial against war. The steeple is still standing and visitors can take an elevator to the top for a view of the city. The price to take the elevator is 3 Euros. At the side of St.Nikolai there is the hop market ("Hopfenmarkt") with its fountain Vierländerinbrunnen.
Following the bridge over the huge street Willy-Brandt-Straße and keeping right takes you into the road "Alte Deichstraße" with its ensemble of traditional half timbered merchant houses and the canal Nicolai Fleet at the rear. This is the site where Hamburg's harbour was some centuries ago.
Harbour Area
At the southern end of the Alte Deichstraße you see where the harbour moved afterwards. There is a canal called Zollkanal. Looking to the left you see the Speicherstadt, a large district of warehouses from around 1900. Some are still in use, but others have been converted to apartments. It's a "typical" location and worth a visit. It also houses attractions such as the "Hamburg Dungeon" and the "Miniatur-Wunderland".
The Hamburg Dungeon is a live-action presentation of the "darker times" of Hamburg. It is probably mostly suited for a younger, easily impressed audience. But it might not be suitable for young children. For details see their Website.
The Miniaturwunderland is the world largest model railway layout. The panoramas include parts of Hamburg, the Alps, the American west and a Scandanavian exhibit which features automated ships on a body of water. It is located in the Speicherstadt close to the Hamburg Dungeon. For details see their Website.
Behind the Speicherstadt is the area of Hamburg's HafenCity. It is Europe's largest project of city development, creating a whole new quarter from scratch in a former harbour region. The Kesselhaus houses an exhibition about (Am Sandtorkai 30, in the Speicherstadt, Open Tue-Sun 10am-6pm, Official Webpage in English, admission free).
The Hamburg Cruise Center, where cruise lines land in Hamburg, is in the HafenCity. Its terminal building is constructed out of 40 sea containers. Nearby, directly at the river Elbe, you find an orange observation tower called HafenCity View Point, allowing nice views on the HafenCity, the harbour and the river (admission free).
Looking from Alte Deichstraße over the Zollkanal to the right you can see the modern buildings belonging to the Hanseatic Trade Center ending to the right at the Kehrwiederspitze. Looking further right you already see the modern harbour.
Walking in this direction takes you to the river Elbe. At the opposite of the metro station "Baumwall" there's Hamburg's city and yacht harbour ("City und Sportboothafen"). The big red lighthouse ship ("Feuerschiff") hosts a restaurant today. Some yards further down the Elbe you get to the Überseebrücke where formerly big cruise liners docked when coming to Hamburg. Permanently docked is the museum ship Cap San Diego, which is said to be last classic cargo ship.
Leaving the water, passing by the hypermodern building of the Gruner + Jahr publishers, you get to the church St. Michaelis (called "Michel", from the tower you'll have a great view over the city), Hamburg's well-known landmark. Close to the Michel off the road Krayenkamp the shopkeeper-office-flats ("Krameramtswohnungen") are the last example of a typical 17th century housing estate.
Continuing down the river Elbe you get to Landungsbrücken ("landing bridges"), the most touristy part of Hamburg's harbour, close to the metro station with the same name. Piers connected with several bridges swim on the water adapting to the tide. There tourism boats land and you will find tourist shops, restaurants and snack bars. The sailing ship Rickmer Rickmers can be visited.
From Landungsbrücken you can make boat tours into the harbour. These Hafenrundfahrten are available from various companies and take around an hour. Big ships provide more comfort, but smaller ships also go though the Speicherstadt. Both are well worth the money. Inquire about English language tours.
As a low-budget alternative for a boat tour on the river Elbe take a HADAG Ferry that is part of Hamburg's public transport system (HVV, see "Get Around"). If you have already bought a HVV day ticket, the ride is free. Most tourists take the number 62 to Finkenwerder via the museum harbour Övelgönne. The whole ride to Finkenwerder and return takes about an hour. In Finkenwerder you can continue with another ferry to Teufelsbrück (costs extra).
You can also walk through the tunnel Alter Elbtunnel from 1911 to the other side of the river Elbe and have great views from there. A lift or stairs bring you the 24 meters down into the tunnel. You then walk through one of its two 427 meter long pipes having 12 meters of water over your head. The tunnel is decorated with ceramic arts of maritime motives (e.g. fish, mussles, seals, old boots). At the other side you again walk up the stairs or take a lift. Go out and back to the river to "Aussichtspunkt Steinwerder" for great views on Landungsbrücken and the sights behind. Even cars can pass though the tunnel (only Mon-Fri, 5:30-20:00, for 2 Euros) being brought down with 4 lifts. You find the tunnel at Landungsbrücken in the building having the biggest green dome. Signs to "Aussichtspunkt Steinwerder" also point to it. For pedestrians and bicycles it is free and open all day and night, every day.
Walking from Landungsbrücken down the river Elbe takes you to St. Pauli Fischmarkt, walking further you'll reach Övelgönne and Blankenese.
Other Neighbourhoods
Sankt Pauli
Another Hamburg landmark is the Reeperbahn in Sankt Pauli - probably one of the most famous red-light districts in the world. And that's exactly what it is. From variety to prostitutes, from bars to sex-shops you can find an assortment of attractions. Plus, it is frequently visited by a lot of travelers to go shopping for a huge variety of sex-related articles and toys - it is probably one of very few places worldwide where all shopkeepers give you serious and open advice on all kinds of sex-related articles.
Common sense and caution are advised here as in any such area. It's relatively safe and a definite touristy place to see - a lot of people go there for dinner, live music, or other non-sex related activities.
Three times a year (March, August, and November) there is an enormous carnival in this part of down called der Dom . It features rides, enormous numbers of food vendors, and a broad range of tacky animatronics. Take the U-Bahn to Feldstraße. In a park across the street is an enormous statue of Bismark.
Schanzenviertel
This neighbourhood is situatated right inbetween Sankt Pauli, Eimsbüttel and Altona. Get out Sternschanze station and walk down Schanzenstraße southward to reach the vivid centre of Schanzenviertel. Students, immigrants from all around the world and young creatives give this quarter a unique and urban flair. During the last few years, Schanzenviertel became very popular among even wealthy people. This lead to rising rents and living costs on the one hand and a variety of exquisit boutiques on the other. The Schulterblatt street with the Rote Flora building and its galore of bars and restaurants represents the centre of Schanzenviertel.
Sankt Georg
Situated northeast of centralstation and city centre, Sankt Georg is the lively, trendy centre of Hamburg's gay scene. Rainbow flags flutter from the balconies in summer. And the streets are crowded with people shopping, having a chat, drinking coffee or going to one of the many art exhibitions around the Lange Reihe street.
Ottensen
The former Danish village Ottensen, bordered by the River Elbe in the south and the Altona Central Station in the east, is not unlike Schanzenviertel a very hip place to live. In the seventies and eighties, Ottensen was mainly populated by Turks, working class people and political activists. Nowadays it is one of the most expensive neighbourhoods. Its situation and the architecture let many inhabitants even today speak of Ottensen as a village. The Fabrik, an alternative concert hall, is situated at Barnerstrasse. Only a few blocks away lies Zeisehallen, a formerly occupied fabric hall, nowadays home of a movie theatre, a gallery, a restaurant and a bookshop.
Ottenser Hauptstrasse and Bahrenfelder Strasse, crossing at the Spritzenplatz offer a huge variety of small shops and bistros.
Blankenese
Blankenese was a fishing village on the Elbe to the southwest of Hamburg. It lies in a valley between two of the only ridges in the area that runs straight down to the river. On pretty weekends, the place will be full of Hamburgers there to enjoy the tiny beaches, the winding streets, and the charming houses. Blankenese is among the most picturesque parts of Hamburg.
To get there, take the S1 to Wedel or the S11 to Blankenese. The train station lies at the top of the valley, on Bahnhofstraße. Go straight across Bahnhofstraße and your will find the banks, an Italian gelateria and café, the market square (markets open early and close at 1PM on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday), and the bakeries, grocery store, and post office.
Other Sites
U 434: One of the biggest non-nuclear Soviet submarines.
Church St. Katherinen: One of the five main churches of Hamburg.
The Chilehaus depicting the form of a ship is propably the best example of the 1920s style of "Kontorhaus" architecture - large office buildings in the typical northern red brick style.
The Auswandererhalle is only a sight if you know its history. In some way it is the counterpart of Ellis Island in New York where immigrants from the old world landed in America. Emmigrants stayed in Hamburg's Auswandererhallen for two weeks in quarantine before emigrating to the new world. It was opened 1900 and regarded to be modern and comfortable. After the flow of emigrants decreased it was closed in 1934. Today only one of the buildings is left and nothing tells you about its historical role. It just looks like a dirty, white commercial building with a today closed restaurant on one side. But for the future there are plans to make it a museum. For a visit take metro S3 to Station "Veddel". Leave at its southern exit, cross the bus station and the steet "Veddeler Straße". Then you stand in front of it.
Parks
Beaches
There are a number of small beaches on the North side of the Elbe river between Övelgönne and Blankenese. Even though not common, it is safe to swim in the Elbe there (if you don't swim out too far). You may have a barbecue there in the evenings as long as you bring a grill and clean up after you. Watch out for surprisingly large waves created by container ships passing by.
In addition, there are a usually number of commercial beach clubs during the summer, usually between Fischmarkt and Övelgönne. Other than the name might indicate, these are bars open to the public.
Museums
Hamburg publishes a thick booklet of their museums called Museumswelt Hamburg, containing details of all the city's museums, which you can find at the information desk of any of the museums.
Churches, Mosques and Synagogues
Hamburg is traditionally a lutheran evangelic town. But due to the large number of different ethnic groups who settled in the harbour town, one is most certainly going to find a suitable temple of any religion. Almost all synagogues have been destroyed during the time of Nazi-government.
Do
Theatre, Opera and Musicals
Hamburg has an opera house (Staatsoper) and many theaters. It is also known to host a number of different Musicals as well as other music events.
Classical Music
The Laeiszhalle is the main classical music hall in Hamburg, with two halls: the klein Saal and großer Saal. You can see the schedule on their website; for online ticket purchases, use Ticket Online.
The Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg has many smaller concerts --- something almost every day --- and is much cheaper than the Laeiszhalle. The programs range from the curator of their early keyboard instrument collection playing them and giving a spiel on the music and the instruments (in German only!), to formal concerts of renditions of Schubert's Die Winterreise. Pick up a schedule at the desk of the museum (down the street from Hamburg Hauptbanhof).
Theatres
Musicals
Note that all musicals are in German language, regardless of their origin. If you're still interested, make sure to buy tickets early, many shows are sold-out. But, midweek there is a good chance that you will be able to buy last-minute-tickets at a highly discounted price of 40€ regardless of price category, age or occupation.
Sports
Events
Learn
There are 11 universities in Hamburg, the biggest of which is the University of Hamburg.
Uni-Hamburg
Many courses and programmes are held in English.
Hamburg is home to schools from countries such as Japan, Sweden, France, Britain and more where the pupils are taught in their native language.
Work
The harbour is the fastest growing job sector in Hamburg. Numerous minor and major companies work in that area. You should be able to speak German because due to the high unemployment rate in Germany jobseekers are attracted by the relative lower unemployment rate in Hamburg. This results in high numbers of applications. Hospitality and media are the two main other industries.
Buy
The main shopping area of Hamburg is the Mönckebergstraße in the center of the city. Take the subway to either central station, Rathaus (town hall) or Mönckebergstraße.
West of town hall towards Gaensemarkt are the more pricey shops like Hugo Boss.
The Schanzenviertel is also getting more popular nowadays for unique designer botiques. Especially younger people happen to be here often. Subway: "Sternschanze"/"Feldstraße".
Hamburg has quite many shops which claim "Second Hand" but are more of an outlet. It's worth a visit still though.
Neuer Kamp 23, U-bahn:
Eat
Budget
Mid-range
Splurge
Cafe
Döner
Drink
Live-Music (Rock)
GLBT
Sleep
Budget
Youth Hostels:
Mid-range
There are countless hotels in Hamburg, too many to list here. At best you should contact Hamburg's tourist information or a travel agency.
Splurge
The Atlantic and the Vier Jahreszeiten share the prize of Hamburg's best hotels over the last one hundred years. Emperors and movie stars have stayed there - and James Bond (Tomorrow never dies, 1997).
phone +49 40 / 31 11 3 - 0, amazing view over the harbour
On the floor
There is a Church mission on the West side of the main train station, mainly for homeless people and people with problems. But it's very clean, people are friendly there and if one is humble and polite, there is a good chance you can enter to chat (even in English) and sleep there on the floor in your sleeping bag. The night shift opens the place at midnight and everyone has to leave before seven in the morning.
Nevertheless, as a traveller, you should contribute some money to run the volunteer's service or at the very least offer some help. Remember: This is not a place for the unprepared traveller and definitely no hotel!
Contact
Free WLAN access available in various locations. See HOTSPOT HAMBURG
Stay safe
Hamburg is, like the rest of Germany, a rather safe place. In the area around the Mönckebergstrasse, main station, on the Reeperbahn and on crowded escalators, watch out for pocket-picking. The Reeperbahn is the quarter with the most dense police presence in Germany, nevertheless make absolutely sure you avoid arguments. They won't get you anything but possibly assaulted. Keep distance from demonstrations unless you're involved, both leftist groups and the Hamburg police are known for heavy reactions.
Keep in mind that the Hamburg police wears blue uniforms. This is mentioned due to the fact that both the federal german police and all of the 15 other state police forces in Germany mostly still wear green uniforms.
Bathing in the Elbe river is possible, however stay away from structures in the river or reaching into the river. Also, keep out of the way of ships. When staying on a beach down the river, place yourself a few meters away from the water and keep an eye on children playing in or near the water. Container ships passing by sometimes create surprisingly large waves that not only wet your feet on the beach but may also pull you into the Elbe.
Cope
Religious services
Holy mass in Hamburg catholic churches:
St. Marien, Domkirche (catholic „cathedral“), Danziger Str. 60 (St. Georg, near to central station). Sun: 8:30, 10:00, 12:00 (portug.), 15:00 (croatic), 18:30; Mon-Sat: 18:15; Thu: 9:15
St. Elisabeth, Oberstr. 65 (district Harvestehude). Sat: 18:00; Sun: 10:00, 12:00 (engl.), 17:30 (span.), 19:30; Tue, Thu, Fri: 19:00; Wed: 15:00
St. Ansgar („kleiner Michel“), Michaelisstr. 5 (district Neustadt). Sun: 9:30, 11:30, 15:30 (tagalog), 19:30; Mon, Fri: 18:30; Wed: 9:30, 19:00 (tagalog)
Index of all catholic churches in the archdiocesis of Hamburg
Get out
Both North Sea and Baltic Sea beaches are reachable within an hour by car, railway or bus.
Hamburg (German language pronunciation: ˈhambʊʁk; Hamborg, 'hambɔːx) is the second largest city in Germany and with Hamburg Harbour, its principal port, Hamburg is also the second largest port city in Europe, no. 9 in the world-ranking of ports and the largest city in the European Union which is not a national capital. A large part of the port is a fenced-in duty-free area.
The official name Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; Free un Hansestadt Hamborg) refers to Hamburg's membership in the medieval Hanseatic League and the fact that Hamburg is a City State and one of the sixteen Federal States of Germany.
Hamburg is situated on the southern tip of Jutland Peninsula, geographically centered (a) between Continental Europe and Scandinavia and (b) between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. The city of Hamburg lies at the junction of the river Elbe with the rivers Alster and Bille and the city center is set around two lakes, the Binnenalster ("Inner Alster") and the Aussenalster ("Outer Alster").
Hamburg is an international trade city and the commercial and cultural centre of Northern Germany.
Politics and administration
The Bürgerschaft (City Assembly) is the parliament of the Freie and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, which is elected by the citizens of Hamburg every four years.
The Erster Bürgermeister (First Mayor with first in the sense of primus inter pares, first among equals) is head of the senate (which forms the executive branch of government) and gets elected by the city assembly and is thus head of the city state. The current mayor is Ole von Beust (see also List of mayors of Hamburg). He is, after Klaus Wowereit in Berlin, the second openly homosexual mayor of a German city.
The state and administrative city cover 750 km² with 1.8 million inhabitants, while another 0.8 million live in neighbouring urban areas. The Greater Hamburg Metropolitan Region (Metropolregion Hamburg) includes some districts in the adjacent federal states of Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony and covers an area of 18,100 km² with a population of just over 4 million.
Hamburg contains a 30,000 m² area of land in the middle of the docks called Moldauhafen ("Vltava port") which is leased to the Czech Republic. The land has extraterritoriality and therefore is exempt from the laws of Germany and Hamburg. The lease was awarded to Czechoslovakia by Article 363 of the Treaty of Versailles to allow the landlocked country a place where goods transported downriver could be transferred to seagoing ships and is set to expire in 2027.
Hamburg is organised into seven districts (Bezirke) comprising 104 neighbourhoods (Stadtteile):
Three small islands in the North Sea also belong to the City State of Hamburg: Neuwerk, Scharhörn and Nigehörn.
February 29, 2004 state election
Ole von Beust was able to form a majority CDU government without the support of partners. His former coalition partners FDP, Offensive and Ronald Schill, who split with several friends from the Offensive, failed to return to the Bürgerschaft. Only the parties with 5% or more will get seats in the Bürgerschaft.
History
The city takes its name from the first permanent building on the site, a castle ordered to be built by Emperor Charlemagne in 808 AD. The castle was built on some rocky ground in a marsh between the Alster and the Elbe as a defence against Slavic incursion. The castle was named Hammaburg, where "burg" means "castle".
The "Hamma" element remains uncertain. Old High German includes both a hamma, "angle" and a hamme, "pastureland." The angle might refer to a spit of land or to the curvature of a river. However, the language spoken might not have been Old High German, as Low Saxon was spoken there later.
Other theories are that the castle was named for a surrounding Hamma forest, or for the village of Hamm, later incorporated into the city. Hamm as a place name occurs a number of times in Germany, but its meaning is equally uncertain. It could be related to "heim" and Hamburg could have been placed in the territory of the ancient Chamavi. However, a derivation of "home city" is perhaps too direct, as the city was named after the castle.
Another theory is that Hamburg comes from ham which is Old Saxon for shore.
In 834 Hamburg was designated the seat of a bishopric, whose first bishop, Ansgar, became known as the Apostle of the North. In 845 a fleet of 600 Viking ships 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.
In 983, the town was destroyed by king Mstivoj of the Obodrites. In 1030, the city was burned down by King Mieszko II Lambert of Poland. After further raids in 1066 and 1072 the bishop permanently moved to Bremen. Hamburg had several great fires, notably in 1284 and 1842.
The charter in 1189 by Frederick I "Barbarossa" granted Hamburg the status of an Imperial Free City and tax free access up the Lower Elbe into the North Sea. This and Hamburg's proximity to the main trade routes of the North Sea and Baltic Sea quickly made it a major port in Northern Europe. Its trade alliance with Lübeck in 1241 marks the origin and core of the powerful Hanseatic League of trading cities.
In 1529 the city embraced Lutheranism, and Hamburg subsequently received Protestant refugees from the Netherlands and France. Hamburg was at times under Danish sovereignty while remaining part of the Holy Roman Empire as an Imperial Free City.
Briefly annexed by Napoleon I (1810-14), Hamburg suffered severely during his last campaign in Germany. The city was besieged for over a year by Allied forces (mostly Russian, Swedish and German). Russian forces under General Bennigsen finally freed the city in 1814. During the first half of the 19th century a patron goddess with Hamburg's Latin name Hammonia emerged, mostly in romantic and poetic references, and although she has no mythology to call her own, Hammonia became the symbol of the city's spirit during this time.
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.
With Albert Ballin as its director the Hamburg-America Line became the world's largest transatlantic shipping company at the turn of the century, and Hamburg was also home to shipping companies to South America, Africa, India and East Asia. Hamburg became a cosmopolitan metropolis based on worldwide trade. Hamburg was the port for most Germans and Eastern Europeans to leave for the New World and became home to trading communities from all over the world (like a small Chinatown in Altona, Hamburg).
After World War I Germany lost her colonies and Hamburg lost many of its trade routes. In 1938 the city boundaries were extended with the Groß-Hamburg-Gesetz (Greater Hamburg Act) to incorporate Wandsbek, Harburg, Wilhelmsburg and Altona. The city counts 1.7 million inhabitants.
During World War II Hamburg suffered a series of devastating air raids which killed 42,000 German civilians (Bombing of Hamburg in World War II). Through this, and the new zoning guidelines of the 1960s, the inner city lost much of its architectural past.
The Iron Curtain—only 50 kilometres east of Hamburg—separated the city from most of its hinterland and further reduced Hamburg's global trade. On February 16, 1962 a severe storm caused the Elbe to rise to an all-time high, inundating one fifth of Hamburg and killing more than 300 people.
After German reunification in 1990, and the accession of some Eastern European and Baltic States into the EU in 2004, Hamburg Harbour and Hamburg have ambitions for regaining their positions as the region's largest deep-sea port for container shipping and its major commercial and trading centre. Hamburg 2020
Economy
The most significant economic basis for Hamburg is the harbor, which ranks 2nd only to Rotterdam in Europe and 9th worldwide with transshipments of 9 million standard container units (TEU) and 134 million tons of goods in 2006. After 1990 Hamburg recovered the eastern portion of its hinterland, becoming by far the fastest growing port in Europe. International trade is also the reason for the large number of consulates in the city. Although situated 90 kilometres up the Elbe, due to its ability to handle sea ships it is considered a sea harbour.
Hamburg follows third after Seattle and Toulouse in the list of the most important locations of the civil aerospace industry worldwide. Airbus, which has one of its two assembly plants in Hamburg, and related companies employ over 30,000 people in or near the city.
Other important industries are media businesses, most notably three of Germany's largest publishing companies, Axel Springer AG, Gruner + Jahr and Heinrich Bauer Verlag. About half of Germany's national newspapers and magazines are produced in Hamburg. There are also a number of music companies (the largest being Warner Music Germany) and Internet businesses (e.g. AOL, Adobe Systems and Google Germany).
Heavy industry includes the making of steel, aluminium and Europe's largest copper plant , and a number of shipyards like Blohm + Voss .
Hamburg is a very wealthy city. Hamburg is the second wealthiest city of the European Union after London, in average income and has also the third most euro millionaires in Europe.
Transport
Hamburg is connected by four Autobahnen (motorways) and is the most important railway junction on the route to Northern Europe. Hamburg Airport is the oldest airport in Germany still in operation. There is also the smaller Hamburg Finkenwerder Airport.
Hamburg's licence plate prefix is "HH" (Hansestadt Hamburg, English: Hanseatic City of Hamburg), rather than just the single-letter normally used for large cities. The prefix "H" is used in Hanover instead.
As in most larger German cities, public transport is organised by a fare-collection joint venture between transportation companies. Tickets sold by one member company in this Hamburger Verkehrsverbund (HVV) are valid on all other HVV companies' services.
Nine mass transit routes across the city are the backbone of Hamburg public transport. Three lines comprise the U-Bahn and six the S-Bahn system. U-Bahn is short for Untergrundbahn (underground railway). Approximately 41km of 101 km of the U-Bahn is underground; most of the U-Bahn tracks are on embankments or viaducts or at ground level. Older residents still speak of the system as the Hochbahn ("elevated railway"). The Hamburg S-Bahn has a total length of 115.2km (8km single-track, 10km underground) with 59 stations, of which 10 are underground. A light rail system, the AKN, connects to satellite towns in Schleswig-Holstein. Gaps in the mass-transit network are filled by bus routes, plied by single-deck, two-, three- and four-axle diesel buses. Hamburg has no trams or trolley-buses, but has hydrogen fuelled buses operating pilot services.
Finally, regional trains of Germany's major railway company Deutsche Bahn AG and the regional Metronom trains may be used with a HVV public transport ticket, too. Except at the three bigger stations in the centre of Hamburg, the regional trains hardly stop again inside the area of the city.
A 24-hour bus network operates as frequently as every 2 minutes on busy routes (30 minutes in suburban areas). There are six ferry lines along the river Elbe, operated by the HADAG company. While mainly needed by Hamburg citizens and dock workers, they can also be used for sightseeing tours at the (relatively) low fees of a HVV public transport ticket.
Buildings
Bridges and tunnels
Hamburg has a number of prominent buildings from the past and present.
The many canals in Hamburg are crossed by over 2300 bridges — more than Amsterdam (1200) and Venice (400) combined.
Churches
The skyline of Hamburg features the high spires of the five principal churches (Hauptkirchen) covered with green copper plates.
(The dates given correspond to the establishment of the respective parish, the buildings are considerably younger)
Other churches are also visible in the inner city:
Towers and masts
Culture
Theatres
Music
Classical:
Famous Composers:
Avantgarde:
Hamburg and vicinity is a popular residency for famous contemporary classical composers. Hungarian composer György Ligeti (1923-2006) also known for his music in films by Stanley Kubrick lived in Hamburg for 30 years and tought at the local music academy. He was succeeded at the Hochschule by the Russian-German composer Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998) who died in Hamburg. His countrywoman Sofia Gubaidulina (1931) lives on the outskirts of Hamburg. Other important composers living and working in Hamburg are Manfred Stahnke, a pupil of György Ligeti's, Peter Ruzicka, Peter Michael Hamel and :de:Babette Koblenz|Babette Koblenz.
St. Pauli:
Hamburg is known for giving the Beatles a start in their musical career in the early 1960s. The Beatles lived in St. Pauli and played at the Indra, the Kaiserkeller, the Top Ten Club, and the Star-Club, which was located in the district near the perhaps most famous street of Hamburg, the Reeperbahn. Singer and actor Hans Albers is strongly associated with St. Pauli, providing the neighbourhood's unofficial anthem, with "Auf der Reeperbahn Nachts um Halb Eins." St. Pauli is known as well as a centre for the German punk movement.
Contemporary popular:
Sascha Konietzko the frontman and founder of KMFDM is from Hamburg and visits regularly.
More recently it is known for some of the most popular German hip hop acts, such as Fünf Sterne deluxe, Samy Deluxe, Beginner and Fettes Brot. There is also a quite big alternative and punk scene which gathers around the Rote Flora, an occupied former theatre located in the district of Sternschanze. Some of the musicians of the famous electronic band Kraftwerk also came from Hamburg. In addition, the members of Tokio Hotel currently reside in Hamburg.
Hamburg is also famous for an original kind of German alternative music called Hamburger Schule ("Hamburg School"), a term used for bands like Die Sterne, Tocotronic, Blumfeld and Tomte.
Hamburg was one of the major centres of the heavy metal music world in the 1980's. Many bands such as Helloween, Running Wild and Grave Digger got their start in Hamburg. The influences of these bands and other bands from the area were critical to establishing the subgenre of Power metal.
Hamburg is also one of the most important global centres for psychedelic trance music. It is home to many record labels such as Spirit Zone, Mushroom Magazine, the world's best known and longest running psy-trance magazine, as well as many parties and club nights. During the summer people from all over the world flock to the countryside surrounding Hamburg to attend massive festivals such as Voov Experience, Shiva Moon, Tshitraka and Fusion Festival.
Since the German premiere of Cats in 1985 there are always a number of musicals being played in the city. Among them have been Phantom of the Opera, The Lion King or Dirty Dancing ( before there was Dance of the Vampires). This density, which is the highest in Germany, is partly due to Germany's major musical production company Stage Entertainment being located in Hamburg. One of the musical theatres is a large tent in the harbour, guests either arrive by boat or through the historic Old Elbe Tunnel.
Hamburg was one city to take part in the Complaints Choir project.
Meg Weymes is also a celebrity from Hamburg
Museums
Currently Hamburg has 79 Museums. Famous and popular ones include:
Cuisine
Although Hamburg is jokingly said to be the birthplace of the Hamburger, this might just be a myth. But the beef patties a German immigrant from Hamburg sold in the 1850s in New York allegedly were named after that Hamburgian butcher and then became a generic term, so the myth goes.
Original Hamburg dishes are Bohnen, Birnen und Speck (Low Saxon Bohn, Peern un Speck, green runner beans cooked with pears and bacon), Aalsuppe (Low Saxon Oolsupp, often mistaken to be German for "eel soup" (Aal/Ool ‘eel’), however the name probably comes from the Low Saxon allns , meaning “all”, “everything and the kitchen sink”, not necessarily eel. Today eel is often included to meet the expectations of unsuspecting diners.), Bratkartoffeln (Low Saxon Brootkartüffeln, pan-fried potato slices), Finkenwerder Scholle (Low Saxon Finkwarder Scholl, pan-fried plaice), Pannfisch (pan-fried fish), Rote Grütze (Low Saxon Rode Grütt, related to Danish rødgrød, a type of summer pudding made mostly from berries and usually served with cream, like Danish rødgrød med fløde) and Labskaus (a mixture of corned beef, mashed potatoes and beetroot, a cousin of the Norwegian lapskaus and Liverpool's lobscouse, all offshoots off an old-time one-pot meal that used to be the main component of the common sailor’s humdrum diet on the high seas).
Hamburg is the birthplace of Alsterwasser (a reference to the city’s river Alster with two lake-like bodies in the city centre thanks to damming), a type of shandy, a concoction of equal parts of beer and carbonated lemonade (Zitronenlimonade), the lemonade being added to the beer. Hamburg is also home to a curious regional pastry called Franzbrötchen. Looking rather like a flattened croissant, the Franzbrötchen is somewhat similar in preparation but includes a cinnamon and sugar filling, often with raisins or brown sugar streusel. The name may also reflect to the roll's croissant-like appearance -- franz appears to be a shortening of französisch, meaning "French," which would make a Franzbrötchen a “French roll.” Being a Hamburg regional food, the Franzbrötchen becomes quite scarce outside the borders of the city; as near as Lunenburg (Lüneburg) it can only be found as a Hamburger and is not to be had in Bremen at all.
Ordinary bread rolls—without which a leisurely weekend breakfast in Hamburg is unimaginable—tend to be oval-shaped and of the French bread variety. The local name is Rundstück (“round piece” rather than mainstream German Brötchen, diminutive form of Brot “bread”), a relative of Denmark’s rundstykke. In fact, while by no means identical, the cuisines of Hamburg and Denmark, especially of Copenhagen have a lot in common. This also includes a predilection for open-faced sandwiches of all sorts, especially topped with cold-smoked or pickled fish. The American hamburger seems to have developed from Hamburg’s Frikadelle (or Frikandelle): a pan-fried patty (usually larger and thicker than the American counterpart) made from a mixture of ground beef, soaked stale bread, egg, chopped onion, salt and pepper, usually served with potatoes and vegetables like any other piece of meat, not usually on a bun. (Many Hamburgers consider their Frikadelle and the American hamburger different, virtually unrelated “creatures.”)
Sports
The most popular sports team in Hamburg is Hamburger SV (which has played in the group stages of the Champions League twice in season 2000/2001 and just recently in the current season of 2006/2007), a football team in the Bundesliga. They play at the AOL Arena, as do the Hamburg Sea Devils, an American football team of NFL Europe. The Hamburg Blue Devils are another American football team in Hamburg, which plays in the domestic German Football League. The Hamburg Freezers represent Hamburg in the DEL, the highest ice hockey league in Germany. The HSV Handball represents Hamburg in the German handball league. Both teams play in the ultra-modern Color Line Arena. Additionally FC St. Pauli is a highly regarded third division (formerly Bundesliga) football club with a large fan base. They play at the Millerntor-Stadion. They recently were promoted to the second league for the season 2007/2008. Hamburg is the nation's hockey capital and dominates the men's as well as the women's Bundesliga with teams like Der Club an der Alster, Großflottbeker THGC, Harvestehuder THC, Klipper THC or Uhlenhorster HC. There are also several minority sports clubs, surprisingly Hamburg has two cricket clubs, Alster CC and HSV Cricket.
See also : Deutsches Derby
Demographics
65% of inhabitants are of ethnic German origin; 35% belong to other groups (mostly Turkish, Iranian, Afghan, Russian, Polish, Portuguese and Ghanaian) - this includes people with partial non-German origin.
Religion
38% of inhabitants are Protestant, 10% Catholic, and 12% Muslim, while 40% profess no religion.
There is also a large number of Afghan Hindus and Sikhs.
Language
As elsewhere in Northern Germany, the original language of Hamburg is Low Saxon, usually referred to as Hamborger Platt (German Hamburger Platt) or Hamborgsch. It is still in use, albeit by a minority and rarely in public, probably due to a hostile climate between World War II and the early 1980s. Since large-scale Germanisation beginning in earnest with in the 18th century, various Low German-coloured dialects have developed (contact-varieties of German on Low Saxon substrates). Originally, there was a range of such Missingsch varieties, best known being the low-prestige ones of the working classes and the somewhat more “posh” bourgeois Hanseatendeutsch. All of these are now moribund due to the influences of “proper” German propagated by education and media, perhaps also because of gradual erosion of the erstwhile independent spirit and local pride of Hamburg’s population.
In addition, immigration brought numerous dialects from all over the German-speaking world used to Hamburg, also a large number of foreign language communities. Hamburg has a sizeable population of Sinti and Roma (“Gypsy”) people, some of them sedentary (mostly Sinti) and some of them nomadic or semi-nomadic (mostly Roma), camp grounds being set aside by the state and municipal governments. Hamburg is thus one of the few locations in the world in which both Sinti and Romany are spoken, and it is also one of the major headquarters of international Roma organisations.
Education
Universities
Currently, up to 29 institutions of tertiary education are located in Hamburg:
Tourism
Image:Speicherstadt 1890.jpg|Warehouse district 1890
Image:Speicherstadt3glp.JPG|Warehouse district
Image:Kesselhaus.JPG|The Kesselhaus (boiler house)
Image:Freedom-of-the-Seas--in-Hamburg.jpg|"Freedom of the Seas" behind the Landungsbrücken
Hamburg was generally not considered to be a tourist magnet, not even by locals. Nevertheless, tourists play a significant role in the city's economy, and according to the magazine Travelhouse Media two of the most visited sites in Germany are located here: the harbour (8 million visitors per year) and the Reeperbahn (4 million), compared to famous sites like the Cathedral in Cologne (6 million) or the castle Neuschwanstein (200,000) unexpected high numbers to most people. Hamburg has the fastest growing tourism industry in Germany (2005 and 2006 approx. 15%) and will most probably reach rank 10 of Europe's most visited tourist destinations by 2008.
Hamburg is best visited in spring or summer. A typical Hamburg visit includes a tour of the city hall and the grand church St. Michaelis (called the Michel), and visiting the old warehouse district (Speicherstadt) and the harbour promenade (Landungsbrücken). Sightseeing buses connect these points of interest. Of course, a visit in one of the world's largest harbours would be incomplete without having taken one of the harbour and/or canal boat tours (Große Hafenrundfahrt, Fleetfahrt) which start from the Landungsbrücken. Many visitors take a walk in the evening around the area of Reeperbahn, considered Europe's largest red light district and home of many theatres, bars and night clubs. It was in the Reeperbahn that The Beatles began their career with a 48-night residency at the Indra Club, and then another 58 nights at the Kaiserkeller, in 1960. Others prefer the laidback Schanze district with its street cafés or a barbecue on one of the beaches along the river Elbe. And not to forget: Hamburg's famous Hagenbeck's Tierpark (Zoo) with the great artificial rock and the first moated, barless enclosures ever to be built (1907). A friend of Hagenbeck's, the illustrator Heinrich Leutemann made some illustrations here.
Quite common is a tour through Northern Germany with Hamburg as a starting point or stop-over.
However, most people visit Hamburg because of a specific interest, notably one of the musicals, a sports event, a congress or fair. Therefore, in 2005, the average visitor spent two nights in Hamburg. The majority of visitors come from Germany (80%); most foreigners are European, especially from the United Kingdom and Switzerland, and the largest group from outside Europe comes from the U.S. An interesting footnote is the high number of rich guests from the Arabian peninsula, who seek treatment in one of Hamburg's hospitals.
Regular events
For the interested visitor, some events held every year:
Sister cities
More information: Hamburg Sister Cities (in German only)
Notable Hamburgers
Actors like Hans Albers, the fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, composers including Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, poet Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, writers and publishers Rudolf Augstein, Marion Dönhoff, Chancellor of Germany Helmut Schmidt, scientists Heinrich Rudolf Hertz, Sportsmen Max Schmeling and Uwe Seeler as well as some important business people like Albert Ballin, Paul Carl Beiersdorf and Kurt A. Körber, as well as the pioneer of the modern zoo Carl Hagenbeck.
External links
