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The port city of the North
Right at the fore, on the foundation walls of the old Kaispeicher A warehouse, lies the Elbphilharmonie (Elbe Philharmonic Hall). The new concert hall dominates the city skyline, arching the bow towards the harbour. A “church for music” made of 1100 differently shaped glass elements, 18,000 tons of steel, as heavy as 722 Airbus A‑380 airplanes and larger than two football fields. Separate from the rest of the building, the large concert hall floats in two concrete shells embedded on 362 steel springs – a building within a building for perfect sound. For the people of Hamburg, “the Elphi” became one of their own after its opening in 2017 – a breath‑taking landmark of their Hanseatic city that combines the contrasts of tradition and modernity.
The largest urban development project of Europe
The Elbe Philharmonic Hall, the harbour and the Elbe belong to Hamburg like the wind, the Alster swans and the sticky sweet Franzbrötchen. Where the Elbe Philharmonic Hall already stands at present, Hamburg’s citizens are building the largest inner‑city development project of Europe by 2025. A completely new urban district is being created on the former harbour area.
Hamburg is one of the three city states in Germany, surrounded by Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony. In the Middle Ages, the city was a leading member of the Hanseatic League. With the Hanseatic League came the ascent to a rich mercantile city. When the merchant vessels grew larger and the old harbour on the Alster river in the city centre became too narrow, they moved it to the Elbe.
Harbour metropolis and a futuristic place
Hamburg is proud of its more than thousand‑year‑old tradition as a harbour city and trading centre. Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, however, the trading city has also become an important industrial location. The industry brought to Hamburg a rapid development of technology, productivity and research. It was then that the foundations for modern Hamburg were laid. Today, with digitalisation setting a new revolution in motion, Hamburg finds itself at the forefront of technology.
Products and brands such as Airbus, Montblanc, Nivea, Otto, Steinway, Tchibo and tesa are innovations from Hamburg. This also attracts founders: Together with Berlin, Hamburg is the leading location for business start‑ups in Germany.
As a knowledge metropolis with 19 universities and other institutions of higher education in the metropolitan region, Hamburg is the academic home of about 100,000 students. Leading research institutions such as the European XFEL and the Centre for Applied Aeronautical Research are based in the Hanseatic city. Thanks to the excellent combination of research and industry, competent networks and a high quality of life, Hamburg attracts start‑ups and young talent alike.
A city of contrasts
The city of two million people has many faces. Civic and rebellious, academic and manual. Its diversity is reflected in an extraordinarily multifarious cultural landscape. Large concert halls and experimental theatres, enormous musical stages and clubs, modern art halls and independent galleries. St. Pauli, theentertainment district at the harbour, is renowned. The Reeperbahn, where once ropes – or “Reepe”, as the sailors refer to them – up to 300 metres long were tied, sees the young nightlife booming today in clubs, pubs and beach bars, right down to the fish market and Hafenstraße.
To the state's official website: