HAMBURG – NORDIC, PLEASANT, VERSATILE

Far in the North of Germany there is this hanseatic city with its maritime spirit where you can almost smell the taste of the ocean – Hamburg. Having the reputation as important culture, industry and trade location the so called Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg has a lot to offer in many different areas. While 1.8 Million people live there more than 13 million tourists visit the city every year.

As the river Elbe with its plenty tributaries runs through the city, there are almost 2,500 bridges stretched over canals and creeks – especially the famous and historic Speicherstadt is a beautiful destination in this context. Located between North and Baltic Sea a short trip to the ocean is possible in round about one hour by car, if the sandy Elbe riverside is not enough.

The city is above all famous for its port, which is one of the biggest transhipment ports worldwide with more than 8.8 million container handled every year. Besides its economic value the port is also a touristic attraction. Whether a harbour tour, the annual port birthday or a walk through the just new expanded HafenCity – the port is definitely worth a visit.

Anja Schwencke, head of the local organisation committee, knows Hamburgs diversity and touristic value: “Hamburg records high rates of increase in tourism worldwide. All foreign guests can look forward to many features like the HafenCity with the famous Elbphilharmonie, the alternative Schanzenviertel or the diverse club scene.”

With this maritime charm Hamburg has much more to offer. Being Germany’s second biggest city after Berlin, it has long-time experience in hosting countless cultural and sports events. Besides its traditional football club Hamburger SV the city is home of the former Champions League winner HSV Handball. In addition, Hamburg has a lot more to offer in a variety of disciplines: for example the world’s biggest triathlon, the 2019 Beach Volleyball World Championship, the Iron Man, or the cycle race Cyclassics with more than 18,000 participants every year take place in the harbor city. Also the Final Four, where the best four German handball clubs annually determine the cup winner, takes place in the Barclaycard Arena, which is also host of the semifinal of the 26th IHF Handball World Championship.

Opened on November 8th, 2002 the Barclaycard Arena with an audience capacity of 13,000 seats can look back on many years of cultural and sports highlights. International stars like Justin Timberlake or Queen performed there just like the ice hockey team Hamburg Freezers plays its home games in the arena. Due to the fact that the hall has been one of the venues of the 2007 Handball World Championship and host to the final round of the 2017 World Women's Handball Championship, the hall as well is well-prepared for the semifinal games in January 2019 and promises to be a great host.

„Our preparations are running right on schedule. The selection of volunteers is largely completed, the marketing is already working and we are happy about the good ticket sales”, reports Schwencke. The local organization team already has favorites, which nation they would like to welcome to the semifinals in Hamburg: “Of course we hope that the German team survives the first rounds and makes it to Hamburg. But we would also like to meet the Danes, our co-hosts, here because they play with such a passion and touch our handball-hearts.”

After watching the exciting encounters in the hall there is so much more to discover in Hamburg : Whether some relaxation in Hamburg’s botanical garden Planten un Blomen, a shopping trip to the city centre’s Mönckebergstraße, or a stroll through the district Sternschanze with its unique and creative boutiques and lovely cafés – every area has its charm.

Did we already mention the one and only Reeperbahn? The famous red-light district St. Pauli with its Reeperbahn, the notorious Herbertstraße, and many clubs, bars, restaurants and theatres is the city’s hotspot at night and attracts thousands of locals and tourists every day. And after a long night a walk to Hamburg’s popular fish market welcoming 70.000 visitors every Sunday is a must do! As you see – it never gets boring in the harbour city!

Go to www.hamburg-tourism.de for more information about Hamburg.

FACTS:

Arena Name: Barclaycard Arena
Arena capacity: 13,000
Games in the Barclaycard Arena: Semifinals, January 25th, 2019
Famous former players from Hamburg: Pascal Hens, Michael Kraus, Johannes Bitter, Torsten Jansen