HAMBURG is the second largest city in Germany, it formed with Lübeck, Bremen and Rostock and other European ports the medieval Hanseatic League. Hamburg is a city-state, being as far as possible independent of other states that existed and exist in Germany. However, during the centuries, Hamburg has always been an international city, not only because of its position in international trade, but also in political dimensions. The city is known as one of the most important harbours in Europe and the world, and it is the greenest city in Germany: 13 % of the city are park and greenland, 23 % protected countryside and 6% nature reserves. Nevertheless, two thirds of the city are occupied by parks, lakes or tree-lined canals, giving this huge harbour city a refreshal rural feel. Culturally, Hamburg is said to have more in common with its trading partners and neighbors in the Low Countries, Denmark and even England, than it does with southern Germany. In Hamburg, there are more tha...
