Welcome to Hamburg, Germany’s northernmost city and with 1.7 million inhabitants, the second largest. Hamburg is a very attractive place to live in because 14 percent of the city is made up of parks and recreational areas. The rivers Elbe and Alster run through the inner city, providing beautiful walks and opportunities to enjoy sporting activities. The Botanical Garden, which is maintained by the University of Hamburg, is located directly next to our school.
Hamburg is a vibrant commercial centre, home to the second largest container harbour in Europe and to many highly specialized industries, including medical, biotechnology and aircraft construction. Half of all Germany’s newspapers and magazines are produced in Hamburg.
For further information on Hamburg, the ‘Gateway to the world’, and life in Germany in general, we invite you to explore the following websites:
Official Website of the State/City of Hamburg: www.english.hamburg.de
What’s on in Hamburg: www.hamburg-guide.de
How-to-Germany in a nutshell:
www.howtogermany.com
The city has many fine theatres, museums, cinemas and galleries. Two cinemas, Streits and Abaton, regularly show movies in English. The English Theatre was established in 1976 and is the oldest professional English speaking theatre in Germany. Music lovers can enjoy performances at the Hamburg State opera or a contemporary musical such as the Lion King or dance of the Vampires at other city-centre venues.
Hamburg is home to many sporting events, including the biggest marathon in Germany after Berlin, the cycling competition Vattenfall Cyclassics, tennis and ice-hockey tournaments and equestrian shows. Hamburg SV is one of the most successful football teams in the country.
Hamburg is twinned with Chicago, Dresden, León, Marseille, Osaka, Prague, Shanghai and St. Petersburg.
The city centre can easily be explored on foot and buildings of special interest include the Rathaus, the Deichstrasse, which contains Hamburgs oldest houses, and many imposing churches. The Elbphilharmonie which is currently being built in the HafenCity, promises to be a spectacular landmark.
Don’t worry if you can’t speak German; English is spoken in most of the shops, restaurants and bars and there are several English-speaking communities in Hamburg.
