| | Overview (Source: Frommers) |
Hamburg 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. This North Sea port was almost totally destroyed during World War II. But out of the rubble of the old, the industrious Hamburgers rebuilt a larger and more beautiful city, with huge parks, impressive buildings, and important cultural institutions. Hamburg is today the greenest city in Europe, with nearly 50% of its surface area marked with water, woodlands, farmland, and some 1,400 parks and gardens. Green is, in fact, the city's official color. Hamburg, Germany's second-most populated city (after Berlin), lies on the Elbe River, 109km (68 miles) from the North Sea, 285km (177 miles) northwest of Berlin, 119km (74 miles) northeast of Bremen, and 150km (93 miles) north of Hannover. Back to Top
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| History (Source: WCities) | Top | There is no firm evidence of settlement in Hamburg before the fourth century A.D. Most city histories use 810 as their starting point, when Charlemagne built a fortress called the Hammaburg at the point where the River Elbe flows into Lake Alster . The Christian settlement survived numerous attacks by the Vikings, but fell to the Slavs in 832. Hamburg flourished under the rule of the Schauenburg Counts (who reigned until the 13th century) when the city began to expand south of the Elbe. May 7th, 1189 is a very important date in the city's history. Legend has it that on this date, Emperor Barbarossa declared that merchants in Hamburg could trade freely with one another. Although "Barbarossa's Charter" was only formally drawn up a century later, the declaration led to the founding of many merchants' guilds and trading houses. This event is still remembered in the annual festival that takes place on the Landungsbrücken , which celebrates the building of the Harbor . In 1190, the citizens of Hamburg attempted to free themselves from their aristocratic rulers, but all the rights they gained were lost 11 years later when the Danes conquered the city. The Danes were eventually pushed out in 1227, and during the following years Hamburg developed into an important commercial and trading center. The Alster was dammed, which probably changed the face of the city more than any other event in its history. When Hamburg joined the League of Hanseatic Cities in 1300, the cit
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| How To Get There (Source: WCities) | Top | Getting There: By Air The Hamburg Airport ( +49 40 5075 x0 / http://www.ham.airport.de ) is located 8.5 kilometers northwest of the center of Hamburg and services the following airlines: Air Baltic ( +49 1805 24 7225; http://www.airbaltic.com ) Air Berlin ( +49 1805 73 7800; http://www.airberlin.com ) Air France ( +49 1805 83 0830; http://www.airfrance.com ) Air Malta ( +49 69 920 3522; http://www.airmalta.com ) British Airways ( +49 1805 26 6522; http://www.britishairways.com ) Continental Airlines ( +49 1803 21 2610; http://www.continental.com ) Delta Air Lines ( +49 1803 33 7880; http://www.delta.com ) Finnair ( +49 1803 34 6624; http://www.finnair.com ) KLM ( +49 1805 21 4201; http://www.klm.com ) Lufthansa ( +49 1803 80 3803; http://www.lufthansa.de ) Qantas Airways ( +49 1805 25 0620; http://www.qantas.com.au ) TAP Portugal ( +351 707 205 700/ http://www.flytap.com ) Turkish Airlines ( +49 40 5075 2824; http://www.turkishairlines.com ) United Airlines ( +49 69 5007 0387; http://www.unitedairlines.com ) Buses are available to and from Hamburg Airport via Routes 172, 26, 606, 292, 39, 114, 23, 292, 34 and there is an Airport Express service to Central Station. The TravelPorter ( +49 40 3179 4453; http://www.travelporter.de ) offers direct door-to-door service. Taxis are located in front of all terminals and the trip to the city centre is a
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| What To Do (Source: WCities) | Top | Theatre, Opera & Literature Hamburg has a diverse theater scene which is guaranteed to satisfy every taste. If you like light theater, head for Komödie Winterhuder Fährhaus or St.Pauli-Theater , while Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg and Ernst-Deutsch-Theater are top addresses for theater classics. Thalia Theater is well known for its innovative productions of modern pieces, such as the Black Rider by Burroughs, Waits and Wilson, or Lou Reed and Robert Wilson's Poetry . If you're in town with the kids, then they'll be spellbound by the performances at the Theater für Kinder , while the legendary Schmidt Theater on the Reeperbahn puts on brilliant variety shows for adults. Although modern and unassuming on the outside, the interior of Hamburg's Staatsoper (State Opera House) is one of the most opulent in the country, and hosts performances by many of the world's greatest ballet and opera stars. The best place for classical music is undoubtedly the Musikhalle - Laeiszhalle . Hamburg also has a reputation as being Germany's musical capital. Although Cats has left town after thirteen years at the Operettenhaus, Phantom and other spectacular shows make this theater a firm favorite. If you are interested in readings and literary events, pop into Hamburger Literaturhaus, which features regular readings by world famous authors. Concerts As most people here will be keen to tell you, The Beatles' route to world stardom began in Kaiserkeller , w
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