Hamburg, the city on the Elbe, is Germany’s second-largest city after Berlin, with almost two million inhabitants, and is one of the best-known cities in Germany. Hamburg is called a Hanseatic city because in the Middle Ages it was a member of the Hanseatic League, a powerful association of merchants and cities.
In addition to sights such as the 18th-century main church of St. Michael, the Reeperbahn and the fish market, Hamburg is also the city with the most bridges in Europe, a record it holds in the Guinness Book of Records. With around 2,500 bridges, Hamburg has more than six times as many bridges as Venice, even more bridges than Venice, Stockholm and Amsterdam combined.
However, Hamburg is also known internationally for its large port and holds a record here too: it is the largest seaport in Germany. Europe-wide, the Port of Hamburg is the third largest seaport as well as the second largest container port.
Hamburg is home to over 20 universities, of which the University of Hamburg is one of the largest in Germany with almost 43,000 students. Hamburg offers over 100 museums in a wide variety of fields for educational entertainment. In addition, numerous newspaper agencies, television and radio stations are located in Hamburg.
The city is also known for numerous shows and musicals such as Disney’s “The Lion King” which, with an audience of more than 11 million, outshines classics such as “Cats” (6.2 million) and “Phantom Men”.