City
Hamburg - Overview
By Jon Darch
Aug 21, 2004, 00:43

Hamburg is Germany's 2nd largest city after Berlin.  It is the country's largest port, the second largest port in Europe and ninth largest in the world.  Despite this, it is located some way inland where the rivers Alster and Bille open into the Elbe, which then flows into the North Sea some 70 miles to the north west. Free and Hanseatic City First established as Hamma Burg (fortified city) in the 9th century, Hamburg played a major part in the establishment of the Medieval Hanseatic League and even now, as a city state with freeport status, free trade and independence feature highly in the life of the city.		Hamburg's landmark, St Michael's Church
The second largest port in Europe		Destroyed by fire Hamburg has been badly hit by fire on several occasions, notably in 1284 and 1842, and then again in 1943, when heavy Allied bombing caused a firestorm that killed 42,000 people.  Later peaking at over 1.8m in 1961 before dropping below 1.6m by 1985, Hamburg's population is now around 1.75m.
Well connected Hamburg is served by 4 motorways (see Hamburg by road), and the main station is a major rail hub for northern Germany.  Local transport includes an underground (U-Bahn), light urban railway (S-Bahn), buses and even ferries on the city's many waterways, such as the Binnen- and Aussenalster (the Inner and Outer Alster Lakes).		Hamburg station, a major railway hub
The Outer Alster Lake		Music and media While the city remains a busy port and home to industry, such as the German Airbus plant, Hamburg has been part of the music scene since the Beatles played here in the early 60s and is still famous for its clubs and nightlife on the Reeperbahn.  Hamburg is also where over half of all of Germany's newspapers and magazines are printed.
See also Expedia.co.uk for Hamburg hotels, flights and rental cars.
External links   Hamburg.de official site (English) Welcome page City history Tourism and culture Getting there World Cup pages - (German)		Internal links Hamburg by road Hamburg by rail Hamburg by air Hotels in Hamburg  Hostels in Hamburg Hamburg SV AOL Arena