Hamburg tourist information
What are the first things that come to mind when you think of Hamburg? Probably the city's stunning location on the Elbe and Alster Rivers, the colorful activity in the St. Pauli entertainment district, unforgettable musicals, a night at the theater, Michaelis Church (colloquially "der Michel") or the impressive harbor. Hamburg, 1,200 years old, is loved both for its contemporary scene as well as for its cultural offerings. In between traditional trading houses and renowned theaters, the latest trends are always cropping up.
Hamburg lies open to many streams of influence. With city-state traditions reaching back for centuries, it has always played a special political and cultural role. Today, as a key commercial hub, an international harbor and a media and cultural center, the metropolis on the Elbe River with its one million inhabitants is once again pursuing ancient traditions with typically Hanseatic aplomb. This comes as no surprise: Germany's second largest city offers a high quality of life and international flair. In Hamburg, the word "boredom" is unknown.
Living near the water affects life in the Hanseatic City more than almost any other metropolis. A dense network of waterways and open water shape the city's appearance and make up 8% of its total area. Hamburg has even more bridges than Venice! After a day's work, many residents simply set sail on the Alster and go boating right in the middle of town. Boat riding on the Alster ("Alsterschippern") or on the larger canals (known as "Fleeten") is a great way to see much of town. The port of Hamburg itself is no less intricate. On a big harbor tour smaller launches ply the narrow canals of the historical Speicherstadt, where the aroma of tea and spices will tantalize you, evoking nostalgia for world of trade at the turn-of-the-century.
The Hanseatic city's image, economy and culture are not only influenced by water: Hamburg has become famous for being a city of gardens, too. The large stretches of water and fingers of the Alster and Elbe lend elegance to Hamburg's generous, modern as well as historic gardens and park areas. The large number of these provide every opportunity to rest, relax, play games and exercise and account for as much as 22% of the urban area.
Visitors to Hamburg are immediately struck by the visual tension of the citys contrasts. Post modern glass and steel facades, the patrician mansions of epochs past, baroque churches, historical residential quarters and a 278 meter TV tower all contribute to the city's look. The mercantile glory of the 19th century has been preserved in important classical buildings along the Inner Alster. Also worthy of note is the characteristic red brick building style which became popular after the turn of the century. Former blue-collar residential districts - clustered around the Stadtpark - are now coveted homes.
In the downtown area, the status-conscious air of municipal buildings and offices set the tone. Hamburg's famous renaissance-style Rathaus celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1997. Although little is left to remind us of the city's oldest core, visitors exploring Hamburg on foot will travel through time from the present to the ancient past. Speicherstadt, the port's historical warehouse district, is a prime example. Here, Hamburgs newest shipping houses have been built almost side by side with the old.
Culture has always been writ large in Hamburg. The cultural tradition in the Hanseatic city dates back to medieval times. Poets such as Klopstock, Lessing and Heinrich Heine, as well as world-famous composers including Handel and Mahler, have left their mark on Hanseatic cultural history. Gustav Gründgens made theatrical history with his legendary dramatisation of Faust, and the Beatles celebrated their breakthrough in the Starclub. From Plattdüütsch to John Neumeier's ballet, you'll find just about everything at Hamburg's stages. Besides three state theatres, the Hamburgische Staatsoper, founded in 1678, the Deutsches Schauspielhaus, Thalia Theater, over 40 private theatres, 50 museums and a total of 313 theatres, concert halls, music halls and cabaret venues attract audiences with a colourful cultural offering. Hamburg is the third most important city for musicals in the world after New York and London. "Cats" ran for almost 15 years, making it the longest-running musical in Germany; this kind of success continues with productions such as "The Lion King", "Mamma Mia" and "The Fearless Vampire Killers".
"Auf der Reeperbahn nachts um halb Eins..." The romantic sailor's image as once evoked by Hans Albers in his popular songs belongs as much to Hamburg history as the great fire of 1842. But there is much more to the St. Pauli where blond Hans once spent his time than just streetwalkers, strip shows and sex shops. The heart of the harbour city beats on Hamburg's number-one pleasure mile: both Hamburg visitors and Hamburgers themselves meet in clubs, discos, dance clubs, bars, pubs and cafés. The cultural scene has also established itself: whenever the curtain goes up at Schmidt-Theater, for example, you can expect the show to be funky. Musicals theatres have also found a suitable theatrical home here.
St. Pauli's worldwide fame as a party district par excellence is not without reason: as early as the 18th and 19th centuries, a colourful band of people settled around the harbour and built up a new life here. St. Pauli came to symbolise prostitution and other pleasures. On the Spielbudenplatz, tightrope walkers and snake charmers, acrobat horseriders and fireaters demonstrated their skills. Tourists have been coming from all over the world since the First World War. When in the seventies and eighties the glamour age seemed to be over, Willi Bartels, property owner and "King of St. Pauli", committed himself to redesigning the area: less sex, more culture instead, more discos, more clean entertainment. "The young people should come to St. Pauli again,": was the credo of Bartels, who's now 87. A concept which took off with complete success: St. Pauli is livelier today than ever before.
So, the "Sündenmeile" ("mile of sin") has long been more than the centre for established erotic clubs and has become a melting pot of diverse influences, trends and styles. The "Kiez" and the neighbouring Schanze district are throbbing with trendy life. There is simply everything in St. Pauli: business and erotica, kebab shops and Asian snack restaurants, yuppie bars and punk discos, long generations of Hamburgers and immigrant families, the trend-conscious and the drop-outs, FC St. Pauli and the Hafenstraße. You will find "Große Freiheit" ("Great Freedom") in the city district of St. Pauli - and that's not just the name of the street.
It was in Hamburg that Henri Nannen founded his newsweekly "Stern", Gerd Bucerius the newspaper "Die Zeit" and Axel Springer "Bild". This is where dpa the German Press Agency rose to become the largest German news agency and where the most creative advertising agencies have their headquarters and the most internet domains per capita are registered: Hamburg is one of the most important media business locations in Germany. The industry sector boasted 10,800 companies at the end of 2002, of which 4,100 are entered in the commercial register. Since 2000 the sector has grown by 13 per cent; since 1995 by a whopping 74 per cent. It is estimated that some 70,000 people generate an annual turnover of 25 billion euros in Hamburg's publishing and printing industries, advertising and film businesses, multimedia, broadcasting (radio and TV), music and arts as well as in the trade-fair and congress sectors.
Publishing legends established their companies in Hamburg. The flagships of the German press fly their colours in the Hanseatic city to this day. Almost 50% of the market share of the German mainstream press is in the hands of just three major Hamburg publishing houses (Bauer, Gruner+Jahr and Springer).
Not only does the beautiful Hanseatic city provide a popular setting for films, 1115 film companies are based in Hamburg, too, meaning that the Hamburg film business has grown by 62%. In 2002, 1650 shooting permits were issued and 132 productions were filmed. Hamburg is the city with the most cinemagoers after Berlin (5.2 million) and the largest cinema turnover.
Large-scale sporting events are traditionally at home in Hamburg and are celebrated like local festivals - derbies, tennis, hockey tournaments, beach volleyball, German national league soccer, marathons, and HEW Cyclassics (cycling classics) are permanent fixtures here. Recently new events with world-cup status have been added, such as the Holsten City Man Triathlon, the Otto World Cup in the judo Super-A tournament or the Jever Blade Challenge in skating. Not to be forgotten are the new top attractions HSV handball and Hamburg Freezers ice hockey. The new Color Line Arena is often truly full to the brim.
Figures also confirm that Hamburg is a city of sport lovers: according to findings by the sport information service Sport-Informationsdienst, Hamburg has the most sport fans and is as a result the number-one city for sport. In the 2002/2003 season, the Hanseatic city can expect 1.49 million fans, who have bought tickets for regular league matches of the Hamburg German national league teams and professional teams. Thus Hamburg is significantly ahead of Munich (1.32 million), Dortmund (1.15 million) and Berlin (1.13 million).
Sport lovers in Hamburg will have every reason to celebrate in the future, too: 2004 is the year that the Special Olympics and the national Games for the Deaf are coming to the Hanseatic city, as well as the world's largest rowing regatta and, of course, the soccer World Cup in 2006!
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