Webcam Hamburg. Panorama of the city near the port
Hamburg is the largest port city in Germany, the second largest after Berlin, and the seventh largest in the European Union. As a port, the city is the third most important and largest in all of Europe, after Rotterdam and Antwerp. Hamburg also serves as the second largest container freight terminal in Europe.
Hamburg is not just a port city in Germany. Due to the fact that it is one of the country's federal states, the city has the status of a state. This is also evidenced by its full name - the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg). This status has historical roots and dates back to the Middle Ages, when Hamburg was actively involved in founding and strengthening the Hanseatic League.
The city is located in Northern Germany at the confluence of the Elbe river into the North Sea. The city is not only the most important seaport, but also the fourth largest river port in Europe. Hamburg is also considered to be the most populous of all non-capital cities in Europe. More than 2% of Germany's population lives in Hamburg.
Many types of industrial sectors thrive in Hamburg. Among them, chemical, petroleum, electrical and some others. The city is also the headquarters of many world-famous trading firms, banks, insurance and economic organizations. Hamburg is rightly called the media capital of Germany. After all, the famous socio-political press publishers Stern and Spiegel are located here.
Hamburg borders with the federal states of Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony. In addition, Hamburg has twin cities - Dresden, Leon, Marseille, Prague, Osaka, Chicago, St. Petersburg and Shanghai.
Structurally, Hamburg is divided into seven districts and 105 neighborhoods. The most densely populated area of the city is the Wandsbeck district. Thanks to its many attractions, the city is filled with tourists year-round. After all, Hamburg has more than 100 parks, many scenic lakes, a large botanical garden, 17 universities and other organizations worthy of attention. Hamburg ranks first in Europe by the number of bridges, as the Greater Hamburg has more than 2300 bridges.
The city is also famous for its celebrities who lived and worked in Hamburg. These include the famous composers Johannes Brahms and Georg Friedrich Handel, the inventor of phosphorus Henning Brand, the famous poet Friedrich Klopstock, millionaire Solomon Heine, famous playwright Gotthold Ephraim Lessing and many others. The famous politician Otto von Bismarck spent the last years of his life in Hamburg.
