Chapter 18 --- Hanseatic Hamburg

then&there

Chapter 18 -- Hanseatic Hamburg

Hanseatic Hamburg

Europe is rich in classy second cities.  Barcelona, Marseille, Porto, Milan, Birmingham, Rotterdam, Turku, Gothenburg, and others feature charms and assets differing from those found in the principal cities of their nations.

Germany’s second city is Hamburg, a very different city than Berlin, the nation’s capital and largest city. Hamburg is more similar to the cities of Rotterdam and Antwerp in being a major port located on a river with a corresponding infrastructure facilitating the port.  Hamburg is Europe’s third largest port. Several centuries ago its historical Hanseatic importance in shipping spawned industries and a cosmopolitan culture related to its connections with Europe and then to the world, particularly related to its banking, media, diplomacy, and academic/science sectors.

Between the 13th and 15th centuries the Hanseatic League monopolized trade in both the North and Baltic Seas. The Hanseatic League, a loose association of city states, reduced trade barriers between traders and towns in this maritime area, forming both a common legal system and a common military to thwart banditry and piracy, thus enjoying a mutual prosperity. The city of Hamburg was near the geographical centre of the League and thrived due to its natural seaport.

This first-time recent visitor to the city was immediately impressed by the greenery of the cityscapes.  Trees line many of the streets and canals while public parks and gardens make up 8% of Hamburg’s land area. Public art abounds throughout the city.  Like most European cities Hamburg is prime for walking, more oriented to pedestrian traffic rather than car traffic as in North America. Hamburg was recently voted as the “European Green Capital”.

Hamburg is on the River Elbe at the confluence of the smaller rivers Bille and Alster, the latter having been dammed to create the shallow urban lakes Binnenalster and  Aubenalster in the heart of the city. There are over 2000 bridges within the city as canals and small tributaries form a lattice-work of water almost at sea level slowly flowing to the North Sea. Its climate is similar to Vancouver’s, a marine climate with inhabitants likewise moaning about the frequency of rainfall.

A recent four day first-time visit to Hamburg was blessed with fine weather. A harbour tour here is a must but like most cities is best explored by walking. Alot of walking. More than enough to see in Hamburg.

Sunrise gilds shoreline buildings on Binnenalster, the smaller of the two artificial lakes in the heart of Hamburg.

Hamburg’s neo-classical Rathaus is the grandest of city halls, built in 1897 after fire destroyed the previous town hall half a century earlier.

Cyclists escape …………

……. the worst of city gridlock.

Hauptbahnhof, the central train station, teems with passengers rushing
to catch their trains.

Trains come and go at Hauptbahnhof, crowding the platforms. The law of averages suggests that more than a few passengers have fallen off
their platform perch to the tracks below.

Strolling the promenade around Binnenalster.

Cafes grace a city centre canal with Rathaus as a backdrop.

Cobblestone memorials are found on residential streets where Jews lived prior to the Nazi regime. Each brass plaque is as unique as the murdered Jew being memorialized with the individual name, date of birth, and date of death, the latter being located at one of the regime’s many death camps. Roughly 5000 of these plaques are found throughout the city.

A scooter tour negotiates bumpy cobblestone streets in the HafenCity district.

A tour boat slips under one of Hamburg’s countless bridges, this bridge being in the re-vitalized urban district of HafenCity.

A forest of construction cranes suggest the scope of the massive urban regeneration project in HafenCity, the largest urban re-development project
(by landmass) in Europe.

Church steeples and the green roof of Rathaus are at the heart of the city.

Despite relentless bombing of the city during WWII a few
architectural gems have survived.

Pedestrians and shoppers stroll the pedestrian thoroughfare of Spitalerstrasse.

The best views of the city are from the elevated perch of ‘Michel’, the pet name Hamburgers have for St. Michael’s Church. The Lutheran church spire has long been a trusted navigational landmark for ships arriving to the port.

From Michel’s perch one can view the River Elbe port facilities and riverfront buildings near Landungsbrucken.

A single tour boat briefly docks at Landungsbrucken to absorb more tourists
for a marine port tour.

The Elbphilharmonie (aka the ‘Elphi’) is a glassy concert hall and residential complex built on top of an old brick warehouse in the HafenCity district. ‘Elphi’ is the tallest inhabited building in the city.

A couple of classic marine vessels call Landungsbrucken home, the sailing ship “Rickmer Rickmers” and the freighter “Cap San Diego”. The freighter was once a general cargo ship and is now a museum. Aboard the old freighter are passenger cabins available for overnight bookings.

The rooflines behind Landungsbrucken on the River Elbe offer a contrast in architectural styles, the central reddish building being the local weather office.

Full frontal male sculptures rise above a wedding shop in central Hamburg.

A bounty from the nearby sea is depicted by a sculpture near Fischmarkt, the city’s oldest and most traditional open-air market.

Tourists stroll a side street off Reeperbahn, the seemy area of St. Pauli where the Beatles honed their craft for a couple of years in the early 1960s.

The Reeperbahn area hosts Hamburg’s red light district and is reputed to have Europe’s most expensive prostitutes. The sign discourages under-age males from entering the ‘showroom’.

Tugboats line the riverfront awaiting orders to guide large freighters to and
from their loading berths.

Tugboats negotiate the currents of the River Elbe in guiding a massive container freighter into the container port.

A freighter’s load of containers is unloaded at the port, the containers then shipped via truck, rail, and barge to their destinations.

A small container freighter is dwarfed by a behemoth on its stern.

Despite the haze an aerial view of the port shows the magnitude of
Europe’s third largest seaport.

A sandy beach on the Elbe riverfront is a popular vantage spot for viewing the constant marine traffic.

Another waterfront attracting the summer crowd is Binnenalster where waterfowl are fed, revered, and protected.

As a Metro train glides above Landungsbrucken a performance artist has laid out an international mosaic of flags to challenge and expand passers-by
knowledge of the world.

The central business district teems with pedestrians illustrating the walkability
of this former Hanseatic city.

After a day of walking the city a local refreshment eases stiff knees.