The Green, Mean Hamburg

Repeated natural calamities, invasions by neighboring kingdoms and being literally razed to the ground in WWII – Hamburg has seen it all but nothing has stopped her from becoming the second largest city in Germany, an important trading center and the greenest city in the nation.

Hamburg is visited by a large number of tourists every year for its many attractions, its happening nightlife and shopping areas. The city also sees a lot of business visitors as it the city is an important center of commerce in the county. Whatever reasons compel visitors to Hamburg, there is something of interest for everyone in this beautiful city with a long, storied history and rich heritage.

Some may want to experience the thrill of walking down the neon-lit Reeperbahn at night; others may be interested in a ride around Alster Lake in the city center or to explore the city’s elegant parks and buildings. A stroll along one of Hamburg's many canals whips out the truth behind Hamburg’s epithet - "Venice of the North" and its striking contrasts between steel-and-glass structures rising amid the old baroque Hauptkirche St. Michaelis never fail to mesmerize visitors.

Hamburg has risen like a Phoenix, time and again through its tumultuous 1,200-year history. This North Sea port was all but destroyed during World War II, but it sprang back with extraordinary resilience to become a larger and more beautiful city, with huge parks, impressive buildings, and important cultural institutions. Today it is one of the greenest cities in Europe, with more than half of its surface area marked with water, woodlands, farmland, and some 1,400 parks and gardens.

Hamburg is Germany's second-most populated city and commands the land around the Elbe River just about a 100 Km from the North Sea. It is a delight to visit this beautiful city and once you know more about the land that gave the world Hamburgers, you would want to come back again and again.

Hamburg’s History

Charlemagne

Hamburg is named after the first permanent building on the site, a castle ordered to be built by Emperor Charlemagne in 808 AD. The castle, built on rocky ground in a marsh between the Alster and the Elbe acted as the city’s prime defense against Slavic incursions and wad named Hammaburg.

The first Bishop of the city was Ansgar, known as the Apostle of the North, who declared it the seat of the bishopric in 834. the city was attacked and subsequently destroyed in 845 when a fleet of 600 Viking ships came up the River Elbe. Two years later, Hamburg had rebuilt its town of five hundred odd inhabitants and had joined hands with Bremen as the bishopric of Hamburg-Bremen.

This burning down and rebuilding continued when in 983, the town was destroyed by King Mstivoj of the Obodrites and 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. The next century saw the city go down to ashes in the great fire of 1284 and much later in a similar mishap in 1842.

Hamburg, 1150 AD

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 charter, along with 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 Lubeck 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).

In 1903, the world's first organized club for social and family nudism, Freilichtpark (Free-Light Park) was opened in Hamburg by Paul Zimmerman. It was located on a lake formed by the Alster River in the southern part of the city, adjoining a bathing beach. 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 Greater Hamburg Act to incorporate Wandsbek, Harburg, Wilhelmsburg and Altona.

During World War II Hamburg suffered a series of devastating air raids which killed 42,000 German civilians (see 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 kilometers 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 Harbor 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. Since reunification the Greater Hamburg Metropolitan Region gained about 400,000 inhabitants and in 2007 its population was about 4.3 million people.

The Best time to go

While Germany can have pleasant summer weather, northern areas including Hamburg are known for their year-round Reizklima, or 'healthy, bracing climate'. This perhaps is the reason for the region’s robust cuisine. Summer is a good time to go to Hamburg as summer temperatures mostly don’t climb upwards of 20 degrees.

You would like going to Hamburg during the winter months if Skiing is a hobby. Winter is prime ski time in the city and you can head south for the Alps of the Harz Mountains for some of the best Ski resorts in the world.

The Road to Hamburg

Flying into Hamburg is the most popular way of getting in as its international airport connects the city to most capitals in Europe. The airport is well connected to the city centre with an airport bus running every 15-20min . You could also take the airport bus to Altona or decide to try your hand at the S-1 or U-1 trains to Ohlsdorf and change to an airport express bus.

The city is well served by trains with four main train stations handling all the traffic. Hourly trains shoot up to Lubeck, Kiel, Bremen, Frankfurt and Munich. There are also regular direct services to Berlin, Cologne, Copenhagen and Paris.

Buses connect with Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam and Copenhagen, with some agencies specializing in trips to Eastern Europe. If you're driving, the autobahns A1 (Lubeck-Bremen) and A7 (Hanover-Kiel) cross just south of the city.

Flipping About

Getting around the city

A U-Bahn train in Hamburg

Hamburg is one of the few cities in Europe where you can still drive around without much trouble, though parking is expensive. The clear thoroughfares cutting through the town centre make driving a pleasure and you can easily get cars on rent. If you would rather use public transport, Hamburg's efficient system of U-Bahn, S-Bahn, buses and ferries offer fantastic alternatives. S- and U-Bahn tickets can be purchased at the bright orange machines at station entrances, while bus tickets are available from the driver.

Top Pillow Space in Hamburg

Hamburg is a not one for the faint hearted when it comes to finding good accommodation. Most hotels are expensive and there is a glut in the top – end with a few budget accommodations thrown in. Some recommended places are:

The area around Hauptbahnhof is your most likely bet for finding a good hotel. Consider the following - Aussen Alster, Hotel Lilienhof, Hotel Village, Kempinski Hotel Atlantic, Le Meridien Hotels Hamburg, Maritim Hotel Reichshof, Park Hyatt Hamburg, Steens Hotel and Wedina

In the Bahrenfeld area there are two hotels of note: 25 Hotel and Gastwerk Hotel Hamburg. The Binnenalster & Neustadt area again has a number of good properties and you can reserve rooms at Hafen Hamburg, Hamburg Marriott Hotel, Hamburg Renaissance Hotel, Hotel SIDE, Radisson SAS Hotel Hamburg and Raffles Vier Jahreszeiten.

Also try East in Reeperbahn, Fritzhotel in St. Pauli, Garden Hotels Hamburg, Hotel Garni Mittelweg and Hotel Abtei in Harvestehude, Hanseatic Hotel in Winterhude and Hotel Miramar in Uhlenhorst. Some other top rated hotels include Steigenburger Hamburg, Arcotel Rubin, Lindner Hotel Am Michel and Empire Riverside Hotel.

For budget accommodations try: Hadley’s, B&B Beletage Hamburg, Bergedorfer Hoehe Hotel, Bridge Inn Hotel, Hotel – Pension Schwanenwick and Zwei Eichen Bed & Breakfast.

Serious Eats in Hamburg

Hamburg’s gastronomic state is inextricably linked to the sea, and that includes the cuisine: lobster from Helgoland; shrimp from Busum; turbot, plaice, and sole from the North Sea; and huge quantities of fresh oysters. Of course, there's also the traditional meat dish, Stubenkuchen (hamburger steak), and the favorite sailor's dish, Labskaus, made with beer, onions, cured meat, potatoes, herring, and pickles. Aalsuppe (eel soup) is the best known of all Hamburg's typical dishes.

Fashionistas, models, and the media elite are flocking to Tarantella in Stephansplatz in the Casino Esplanade. Enjoy watching your meal whipped up by the top chefs in the open kitchen with lobsters plucked from a tank and crispy suckling pig with creamy sauerkraut. Another fashionable newcomer is K & K Kochbar in Rothenbaumchaussee where you can sample extraordinary dishes like octopus carpaccio with sorbet.

Fees: this is the place to go to if you want a robust German meal. The add on is the eclectic cafe-bar attached to the Museum of Hamburg History, with gothic fittings, ornate chandeliers and art nouveau fixtures, or 'outside' in a glass-covered courtyard with palms, plants in tubs and patio heaters for all-year use.

Fischerhaus: Fischerhaus in St. Pauli Fischmarkt is unarguably the city's favourite fish restaurants; downstairs is traditional and old-fashioned dark wood fittings; upstairs is modern with light wood and harbor views.

Old Commercial Room: An engaging nautical themed restaurant on Englische Planke, this one is right next to the Michaelskirche and serves a mean Labskaus (sailor's hash)

Ratsweinkeller: The town hall wine cellar is Hamburg's oldest restaurant, with bags of traditional atmosphere and hearty local and regional dishes.

Restaurant Nil: Restaurant Nil on Neuer Pferdemarkt is a chic, retro-modern restaurant, housed in a beautiful old building which was once a shoe shop. It is one of the most talked about and most popular places in town, serving excellent New German cuisine.

Also try Le Canard for its mouthwatering fish dishes and La Fattoria on Isestrasse for its fresh pasta mushroom truffle served in a delicious rich cream sauce.

Hamburg Night scene

The first thing you must do after landing in Hamburg is to pick up a copy of Hamburger Vorschau for 2€ ($2.60). Published once a month,maps.google.com/maps it's available at various tourist offices, most hotels, and most newsstands and carries valuable information about all the events in the city.

Entertainment options in Hamburg are many and quite varied and there is something for everyone here. Being blessed with more than 40 theaters gives the city dwellers and tourists a great chance to pick and choose from hundreds of performances, though most are in German. An exception is the English Theatre of Hamburg in Lerchenfeld where you can catch some fine performances Monday to Saturday at 7:30pm with a matinee on Tuesday and Friday at 11am.

Hamburg, like Berlin, is one of the major gay havens of Europe, with a particularly dense concentration of gay boutiques and cafes along the Lange Reihe in St. Pauli. A little journal, Dorn Rosa, distributed at most gay and lesbian bars, lists (in German) the clubs, restaurants, bars, and events that cater to a gay, lesbian, and bisexual clientele.

When planning a night out consider some of these places: Bar Hamburg, Café Gnosa, café Schonne Aussichten, Club Grosse Freiheit, the Cotton Club and Fabrik for their enthralling music scene, Frauenkneipe, Golden Cut which is one of the raciest dance clubs, Molotow which plays the best dance music and Neo for its comfortable ambience.

Top Hamburg Attractions

Altona Fish Market: The Altona Fish Market is a fish market only in name as there is little nothing that isn’t on sale at this lively, colourful Hamburg market that takes place early on Sunday mornings, ever since it started in 1703. Enjoy the hearty dishes at the restaurant in the historic Fish Auction Hall along with some fab live music

Warehouse complex: This structure is the world's oldest warehouse complex, replete with red brick walls, gables and turrets, is a century old and still in use for storing exotic goods from around the world. Known as the Speicherstadt in German, this historic section of the Free Port between the Deichtorhallen and Baumwall is a raging tourist attraction that features an open air theatre, a spice museum, a miniature exhibition and an Old Russian submarine open for exploration. Don’t leave without visiting the 'Hamburg Dungeon', a weird but interesting interactive experience that puts you in touch with the more unpleasant and gory aspects of the city's history.

Hamburger Kunsthalle: The Hamburger Kunsthalle is the city’s premier art gallery that displays works from the Middle Ages through to the present day. The Kunsthalle's main aim is more to educate about art than to have a permanent display. This is the reason exhibitions are constantly changing to display new, modernistic and contemporary forms of art.

Blankenese: This quaint destination on the steep Elbe hillside was once a fishing village favored by retired ship captains. Today it has become popular with locals as a weekend outing, and visitors also throng the narrow alleys and stairways between picturesque houses packed together on the Cliffside. The village offers an abundance of cafes and restaurants where patrons can relax and watch ships steaming in and out of the harbor. There is a ferry service to Blankenese from St Pauli-Landungsbrucken in Hamburg's Free Port.

Museum of Hamburg History: The museum gives a detailed description of the city of Hamburg from the 8th through to the 20th centuries. Scale models have been used to illustrate the changing shape of the city's famous harbor. Exhibits also include reconstructions of various typical rooms, such as the hall of a 17th century merchant’s home to an air raid shelter from WWII.

Reeperbahn: Reeperbahn literally translates into “Rope Street” and was once the main market for rope makers that supplied their wares to the shipping industry in the city. Today, Reeperbahn is Hamburg's notorious red light district that lies to the east of the city centre in the St Pauli zone. It is one of the most popular tourist attractions according to the city management. The most interesting thing about the place is that it is prohibited for juveniles and women!

The latest attraction which actually is still under construction is a monument to The Beatles in the place where the Fab Four launched their international career 45 years ago. Radio Station Oldie 95, the sponsor, raised $625,000 for the steel monument which is being built on the corner of the St. Pauli district where The Beatles sang "Love Me Do" in 1962.

Hamburg is also famous for its packed annual itinerary of social events that include concerts, fairs, festivals, parties and conventions. The stand out ones include Hamburger Dom – Europe’s biggest and oldest funfair that takes place thrice a year in late March, late July and late November.

The first week of May sees Hafengeburtstag or the Harbor Birthday which essentially is one of the wildest parties that commemorates the day the German Emperor Fredrick Barbarossa granted the city exemption from customs duties helping it find its feet as a trading power.

Shop till you drop in Hamburg

Hamburg is a city of merchants and its long shopping hours are evidence to the same. In general, you can shop Monday to Friday from 9am to 6:30pm, some places are open till 8pm on Thursdays, and on Saturday 9am to 2pm or until 4 or 6pm on langer Samstag, the first Saturday of the month. The only trouble with shopping in Hamburg is that the best shops are spread around and the whole activity demands time.

In your shopping ‘must do’ you have to put Grosse Bleichen and Neuer Wall, two of the oldest and most prestigious shopping streets right at the top. Both streets run parallel to the canals and are connected by Jungfernstieg and Ufer Strasse on the Binnenalster. Less expensive shopping streets are Spitalstrasse and Monckebergstrasse.

Hamburg is home to several big shopping malls of which the glass-roofed Hanse Viertel Galerie Passage is considered one of the best with its hip cafes and a stand-up seafood bar where glasses of beer or Sekt (sparkling wine) are served at tiny tables. Monckebergstrasse is the city's traditional shopping district where you can find big department stores such as Karstadt. A thriftier alternative is Kaufhof which carries more affordable stuff than the surrounding department stores and also offers better deals on merchandise markdowns. Do remember that this is the place to go to if you are looking for good bargains.

If fashionable is what you are after then the place for you is Alsterhaus on Jungfernstieg. Walk a block ahead of here to get to Hamburger Hof, the elegant entrance to one of the most attractive chains of shopping galleries in Europe. At the end of Jungfernstieg, you can cross Gansemarkt to Gansemarkt Passage, another shopping gallery, with stores on three levels.

For trendy clothes and accessories try the upmarket shopping area in Eppendorf which also has the distinction of being Hamburg's oldest village, first mentioned in written history in 1140. This is also Hamburg’s best address with most of the “Hamburg Brahmins” having a pad in the area's 19th-century homes and apartments. The shopping district, from Klosterstern to Eppendorfer Markt, has exclusive boutiques selling fashions from Paris, Milan, and New York; colorful shops with odds and ends for your home; antiques shops; and places where you can not only make purchases but watch goldsmiths, hat makers, potters, and weavers at work.

The Hamburg Fischmarkt (fish market), between Hexenberg and Grosse Elbstrasse is held every Sunday from 5am in summer or 7am otherwise. A curious mix of flowers, fruit, vegetables, plants, and pets are also for sale at this traditional market, in existence since 1703. For beautiful and genuine antiques in Hamburg go to the Antik-Center in Klosterwall which is a covered passageway loaded with more than 60 stalls and the accumulated loot of estate sales throughout England, Germany and, to a lesser degree, France.

Jil Sander in Neuer Wall is your best bet for chic women's clothing and another popular choice for women's fashions is Escada Boutique in the same area. Pick up delicate hats as well as Homburgs and Stetson-style hats for men at Monika Flac on Bleichenhof Passage just off Grosse Bleichen. For high-fashion men's clothing, go to Thomas-i-Punkt in Gansemarkt where you'll find suits, jackets, shirts, shoes, and belts carrying the exclusive Omen label. Ties, handkerchiefs, and other accessories are also available. Shoes, well made and fashionably styled, are sold to both men and women at Schuhhaus Prange in Jungfernstieg.

Your shopping cannot be called completed or satisfying till you have been to Binikowski in Lokstedter Weg and bought a Buddelschiff (ship in a bottle), as well as ship models and clocks!

One Fine Day

Start your day at the Altona Fish Market where fish is sold almost as an afterthought. This is one of the oldest markets in Hamburg having been in existence since 1703 and going here the first thing on your one day in Hamburg is great for soaking in all the sights and sounds of the city. Make some time for a hearty breakfast of wholesome German dishes at the restaurant in the historic Fish Auction Hall. If you also want the play along live music this place is famous for, you would have to come back in the late evening!

Next, stroll up to the warehouse complex which is considered the world's oldest and is a delight to look at. The red brick building is a century old and still functioning as a storing place for stuff from around the globe. Known as the Speicherstadt in German, the warehouse complex lies in the historic section of the Free Port between the Deichtorhallen and Baumwall and is a very popular tourist attraction. Spend the morning here at the open air theatre, the spice museum and the miniature exhibition. If you have time and the shopping pangs haven’t set in yet, visit the 'Hamburg Dungeon'.

Start your shopping spree with some window gawking at the stores on Grosse Bleichen and Neuer Wall, two of the oldest and most prestigious shopping streets in Hamburg. Gawking is fine, but since you are on holiday, splurge some and pick up a few fashionable dresses. Next up, move on to the more affordable Spitalstrasse and Monckebergstrasse streets for stuff you can buy without feeling too guilty. If you like the big department store type shopping, try Hamburger Hof (left, above).

Stop for lunch at the Tarantella in Stephansplatz in the Casino Esplanade. The menu is mouthwatering; the ambience is fab and the place comfortable. Go on and indulge, you deserve it!

Hamburg’s best kept secrets…

Now Revealed!

Harbor Cruises: Take a bumpy harbor tour through the Hamburger Freihafen, absorb the grand scenery of the city, and gaze at the seafaring steel hulks ready to ply the oceans of the world.

Historic Harbor District: Travel back in time and walk the quaint cobblestone alleys around Deichstrasse and Kontorhausviertel.

Kunsthalle Hamburg and the Deichtorhallen: Spend an afternoon browsing through the fantastic art collections at two of Germany's leading galleries of modern art.

Retail Therapy: Indulge your inner shopper at the posh shopping arcades Hamburg is famous for; then stroll down elegant Jungfernstieg and end the afternoon at a charming downtown café.

Sin City: Stroll down Reeperbahn, browse in the quirky sex shops, and dive into the bizarre nightlife of Europe's biggest red-light district.

The Travels-Booking TipMeister

General

Driving in Hamburg is not difficult as long as you follow the traffic rules which are very efficiently enforced. Get a whole list of rules here which include “Spectacle wearers must carry a spare in the car” – we are not making that up!

As with most other cities in Germany Hamburg is a very safe city. However it would help if you didn’t draw undue attention with displays of cash and kept a good watch on your luggage and bags.

Watch out for pick pockets in crowded areas like Reeperbahn and in public transport.

Families

Kids would love to go to the “Miniatur Wunderland” – the world’s largest model railway in perfectly styled landscapes.

Make a visit to the Ballinstadt – a museum that traces the five million Europeans who immigrated to America from this port.

Couples

Take an early morning walk in the lush green Stadtpark, the greenery and the fresh air, both are fantastic.

Walk along the Aussenalster in the evenings when the sun is setting; it is one of the most romantic moments of the day

What they have to say

Fodor’s recommends staying at Raffles Vier Jahreszeiten - Some claim this 19th-century town house on the edge of the Binnenalster is the best hotel in Germany.

Fodor’s also suggests not missing out on two famous attractions in the city: Freihafen Hamburg and St. Michaeliskirche.

Frommer’s recommends buying jewelry from Brahmfeld and Gutruf, Germany’s oldest jewelers.