First off, an overview of what has made this Saxon city on the Elbe River (pop. 1/75 million) appealing for generations. Talk about “Venice of the north” – did you know, for example, that Hamburg has more canals than the real Venice, or Amsterdam (and bridges than both of them put together)? It’s also a city of parks, other green spaces, and increasingly eco-friendly spirit in general.
Its cityscape is also a diverse mix of architecture, from modern highrises (though relatively few) to gracious examples of Renaissance, Gothic, and 19th-century – though many of these are reconstructed after the originals were destroyed by Allied firebombing during World War II. In fact, many of the skyline’s most notable silhouettes belong to the city’s distinguished old churches, such as the 18th-century Baroque Hauptkirche Sankt Michaelis (aka Michel, left); red-brick St. Petri, its current incarnation dating from the 19th century; 14th-century St. Jacobi, with northern Europe’s largest Baroque organ; and the brick Gothic St. Katharinen, dating back to the 14th century (J.S. Bach played the organ here!).
Read more in our post Happening Hamburg: Hafen City and Sankt Pauli.
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