Hamburg (English: , German: , local pronunciation 1 Low German/Low Saxon: Hamborg 2) is the second-largest city in Germany (after Berlin), and, along with its central port, also the second-largest port in Europe (after Rotterdam), ninth-largest port in the world, and the most populous city in the European Union that is not a national capital. The city is home to approximately 1.8 million inhabitants.

Hamburg's proper name is the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (German: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg). Constitution of Hamburg It makes reference to Hamburg's history as a member of the medieval Hanseatic League and as a free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire, also to the fact that Hamburg is a city-state and one of the sixteen Federal States of Germany.

Hamburg is a major transportation hub in northern Germany and became a media and industrial center with factories such as Blohm + Voss and Norddeutsche Affinerie. The radio and television broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk and publishers such as Gruner + Jahr represent the important media industry in Hamburg. In total there are more than 120,000 enterprises. The city is a major tourist destination both for domestic and overseas visitors, with about 7.4 million overnight stays in 2007.

History

main: History of Hamburg

The city takes its name from the first permanent building on the site, a castle ordered to be built by Emperor Charlemagne in 808 AD. The castle was built on rocky ground in a marsh between the Alster and the Elbe as a defence against Slavic incursion. The castle was named Hammaburg, where burg means castle. The Hamma element remains uncertain, also the location of this castle.

In 834, Hamburg was designated the seat of a Roman Catholic bishopric, whose first bishop, Ansgar, became known as the Apostle of the North. Two years later, Hamburg was united with Bremen as the bishopric of Hamburg-Bremen.Verg, p.15 In 1529, the city embraced Lutheranism, and Hamburg subsequently received Protestant refugees from the Netherlands and France, and, in the 17th century, sephardi Jews from Portugal.

Hamburg was destroyed and occupied several times. In 845, a fleet of 600 Viking ships came up the River Elbe and destroyed Hamburg, at that time a town of around 500 inhabitants.Verg, p.15 In 1030, the city was burned down by King Mieszko II Lambert of Poland. Valdemar II of Denmark raided and occupied Hamburg in 1201 and in 1214. Hamburg had several great fires, the most notable ones in 1284 and 1842. In 1842, about a quarter of the inner city was destroyed in the "Great Fire". This fire started on the night of the 4 May 1842 and was extinguished on May 8. It destroyed three churches, the town hall, and many other buildings, killed 51 people, and left an estimated 20,000 homeless. Reconstruction took more than 40 years. Hamburg was briefly annexed by Napoleon I (1810–14). Russian forces under General Bennigsen finally freed the city in 1814. During World War II Hamburg suffered a series of air raids, which killed 42,000 civilians. On February 16, 1962 a severe storm caused the Elbe to rise to an all-time high, inundating one-fifth of Hamburg and killing more than 300 people.