Hamburg is the second largest city in Germany after Berlin. Hamburg is the economic and cultural center of all of Northern Germany.

It is both a city and one of Germany’s 16 federal states. The city area is six times bigger than Paris.

Situated on the river Elbe, Hamburg has 2,302 bridges – more than Venice and Amsterdam combined.

Hamburg’s harbor ranks #2 in Europe and #9 worldwide.

Between 1850 and 1934, more than 5 million people emigrated through the port of Hamburg. For them, Hamburg was literally the Gateway to the World.

People have a special word for greeting each other in Hamburg. Unlike southern Germany, where people say "Grüß Gott", one hears the word "Moin Moin" very often in Hamburg.

The origin of the “hamburger” is not very clear. One version is that at the end of 1800's European emigrants reached America on the ships of the Hamburg Lines and were served meat patties quickly cooked on the grill and placed in two pieces of bread.

The local soccer team Hamburger SV (HSV) is the only soccer team to have played in the Bundesliga (Germany’s top soccer league) in every season since the league’s formation in 1963.

World famous music band "The Beatles" started their musical career in a Hamburg nightclub.

The famous night life district of Hamburg is called "Reeperbahn". It is also the red light district of the city.