Hamburg Facts

As a harbor city located in the far north of Germany, Hamburg has been known for centuries as the "gateway to the world." One of Hamburg's most famous sons, novelist Wolfgang Borchert, lovingly described the city as "more than a heap of stones, roofs, windows, beds, roads, bridges and street lamps. It is more than factory chimneys and traffic jams-more than the screeching of seagulls, squeaking of trams and thundering of the railway-it is more than ships' horns, whirling cranes, curses and dance music-oh, it is so much more!" Even writer Heinrich Heine, who did not always sing Hamburg's praises, returned again and again, just as many visitors do. Hamburg has an air about it: on the one hand,...

...has many faces. A walk down the neon-lit Reeperbahn at night will revive old memories of "Sin City Europe." A ride around Alster Lake in the city center will reveal the elegance of its finest parks and buildings. And a stroll along one of Hamburg's many canals explains why this city has been called the "Venice of the North." Contrasts are evident wherever you look in Hamburg. Amid the steel-and-glass structures of the modern city is the old baroque Hauptkirche St. Michaelis. A Sunday-morning visit to the Altona fish market will give you a good look at early shoppers mingling with late-night partiers.

Hamburg has had to be flexible to recover from the many disasters of its 1,200-year history....