19 Hamburg Facts That Will Make You Want to Set Sail

By Karin Lehnardt, Senior Writer

Published April 14, 2022Updated January 31, 2025

The official name of Hamburg is the "Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg."_[3]
Hamburg is the second-largest city in Germany, with a population of about 1.7 million people. Berlin is the largest, with 3,520,031._[8]
Hamburg has more bridges than any other city in the world._[8]
Before the unification of Germany in 1871, Hamburg was a fully sovereign city state._[3]
Even though Hamburg has faced several disasters, such as WW II bombing raids, the Great Fire of Hamburg, and the North Sea Flood of 1962, the city has emerged stronger and wealthier each time._[3]
Hamburg is Germany's largest port and commercial center._[11]

Hamburg was key in shaping the Beatles into the band that they became

The Beatles performed over 273 shows in Hamburg between 1960–1962, during which they mastered their skills and developed their distinctive sounds. John Lennon said, "I might have been born in Liverpool, but I grew up in Hamburg."_[7]
The biggest model railway in the world is in Hamburg, with a track of over 52,493.44 feet (16,000 meters)._[5]
The name "Hamburg" is from the first permanent building on the site, a castle built in AD 808._[3]
Hamburg and Bremen are the only two German city-states that still claim to have some of their medieval independence._[3]
Famous people from Hamburg include Angela Merkel, Felix Mendelssohn, and Johannes Brahms._[4]
Pastor Johann Hinrich Wichern (1808–1881) is believed to have invented the advent wreath in the "Rauhes Haus" in Hamburg, a Protestant inner-mission refuge for orphans and wayward boys._[1]

The Advent wreath made its debut in the early 19th century in Hamburg

Citizens of Hamburg are called "hamburgers."_[3]
The Herberstrase is Hamburg's shortest street. It's also blocked on both ends because it has been a red-light district since the 19th century. All women and males who are under 18 years old are prohibited from entering._[10]

Hamburg is quite fond of its swans

Hamburg's Lake Alster is home to over 100 swans. A government gamekeeper called the Schwanenvater, the "the Swan father," looks after them. This position has existed since the 17th century and is one of the oldest continuous government posts in the world._[9]
Hamburg is seven times bigger than Paris._[3]
A popular attraction, the Planten un Blumen is known as "Hamburg's Green Lung" and is home to various themed gardens, including one of the world's largest Japanese gardens._[3]
Hamburg resident Bernard Markwitz invented arm floaties in 1956, after his daughter fell into the family's fish pond._[2]
The Ohlsdorf Cemetery is the largest cemetery park in the world, at 1.5 square miles (4 million square meters). Since 1877, over 1.4 million people have been buried there._[6]