Hamburg

The first recorded settlement on the present site of Hamburg was the moated fortress of Harnmaburg, built in the first half of the ninth century. The city that developed around it became the northernmost archbishopric in Europe, to facilitate the conversion of the northern peoples.

The city was burned down many times, but in the 13th century it became the Hanseatic League's gateway to the North Sea and was second in importance and influence only to Lubeck. With the decline of the Hanseatic League in the 16th century, Lubeck faded into insignificance but Hamburg continued to thrive.

Hamburg strode confidently into the 20th century but WWI stopped all trade and most of Hamburg's merchant shipping fleet (almost 1500 ships) was forfeited to the Allies as reparation payment. In WWII, over half of Hamburg's residential areas and port facilities were demolished and 55,000 people killed in Allied air raids that spawned horrific firestorms.

Today it is a sprawling port city and a separate state of Germany, with a stylish shopping district, numerous waterways (with more bridges than Venice), and even a beach (in Blankenese, Germany's most exclusive suburb).

Orientation

The Hauptbahnhof (main train station) is very central, near Aussenalster lake and fairly close to most of the sights. These are south of Aussenalster and north of the Elbe River, which runs all the way from the Czech Republic to Hamburg before flowing into the North Sea. The city centre features the Rathaus and the beautiful Hauptkirche St Michaelis. The port is west of the city centre, facing the Elbe.

Information

The small tourist office in the main train station (Ph: 30 05 12 00, fax 30 05 13 33, 8 info&hamb, urg tourism.de) at the Kirchenallee exit offers limited brochures and a room finding service. It has great hours (7 am to I I pro daily) and friendly staff. There's also an office at St Pauli

harbour between piers 4 and 5 open 10 am to 7 pm daily, and till 5.30 pin from October to March. You can view its official Web site at www.hamburg tourism.de.

Both tourist offices stock the Hamburg Card, which offers unlimited public transportation and free or discounted admission to most attractions, museums and cruises. The 'day card' is valid after 6 pm on the day of purchase and throughout the next day and costs DM12.80 (single) or DM24.50 (groups of up to five people). The 'multi day card' is valid on the day of purchase and the following two days (DM26.50/43). An even better deal is the Hamburg Jugend Pass, only available at youth hostels, which gives even steeper discounts to anyone under 27 for a mere DM12.50 (extendable for an extra DM5.50 per day).

Money There is a Reisebank above the Kirchenallee exit of the main train station (open 7.30 am to 10 pm daily), and others at Altona train station (closed Sunday) and in terminal 4 at the airport (open 6 am to 10 pm daily).

Post & Communications There's a small post office with a poste restante service (four weeks for international mail) near the Kirchenallee exit of the train station (open 8 am to 8 pin Monday to Friday, 9 am to 6 pin Saturday and 10 am to 6 pm Sunday). The main post office is on the comer of Dammtorstrasse at Stephansplatz.

Email & Internet Access Surf In (Ir 33 30 75 34) in the Lust for Life store at Monchebergstrasse I charges DM3 for 30 minutes online.

Newspapers & Magazines For cultural events and lifestyle information, look for Max City Guide (DM9.80) and the magazines Szene (DM5) and Oxmox (DM2). For classified ads of all sorts, pick up a copy of Avis, published on Tuesday (DM3.50) and Friday (DM4. 10).