Kaiserslautern American
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STATE OF THE ART: Hamburg
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STAY TUNED FOR A HUGE “LEAP“ BACK DOWN SOUTH TO DISCOVER CUCKOO-CLOCKS AND DWELLINGS ON STILTS IN BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG
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Gateway to the World The “Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg” (Free and Hanseatic City
Hanseatic flair Hamburg had a long history as member of the medieval “Hanseatic League” and “Free Imperial City of the Holy Roman Empire” until 1871, when it lost its sovereignity under Emperor Bismarck. Hamburg is not a typical sea port, it is located land inwards on the Elbe River as well as the meeting points of the Alster and Bille Rivers, but is considered to be significant due to its historic role. It is Europe’s third largest port after Rotterdam and Antwerp. For centuries Hamburg has been a bustling port with ships that sailed the world, tall tales to go along with it and was nicknamed “Gateway to the World.” Prior to steam engine trains and automobiles this was a starting point for travel to every corner of the world, including emi-
by Saxa ri
Many members of the Kaiserslautern Military Community have found temporary or even permanent homes in one of the many villages and towns surrounding Kaiserslautern in the heart of Rheinland-Pfalz. You may already be familiar with your immediate vicinity, but there is much more to explore and experience at your “home away from home”. State of the Art is a series introducing Germany as a whole, but also highlighting an individual state or “Bundesland” every month. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, both German countries reunited in 1990. The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) included 11 states and Berlin, in its geographically isolated location. The German Democratic Republic was comprised of five states and today’s Germany has a total of 16 “Bundesländer.” After reunification Berlin again became the capital and the seat of the Federal Parliament (Bundestag) and the representative body of the states (Bundesrat). Olaf Scholz of the majority Social Democratic Party (SPD) is the elected Federal Chancellor of the country with 84 million inhabitants. This month’s feature will lead us to the City State of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein, Germany’s northern most state.
and Schleswig-Holstein
of Hamburg) has been known as the “Tor zur Welt” among seafarers for centuries. It is Germany’s second largest city with 1.85 million inhabitants and is considered to be the seventh largest city in Europe. The greater Hamburg Metropolitan Region has 5.1 million in total. The City State is surrounded by the states of Niedersachsen to the south and Schleswig-Holstein to the north. Similar to Bremen, it has a Senate, rather than a State Parliament. Peter Tschentscher of the Social Democratic Party has been the First Mayor and Head of the Senate since March 2018. Current Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz held this position from 2011 to 2018 and former Chancellor Angela Merkel was born in Hamburg.
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by Gina Hutchins-Inman 86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
May 5, 2023
grants sailing to the new world. Its century-long role as a leading global trading hub led to Germany’s oldest stock exchange and the world‘s oldest merchant bank “Berenberg Bank” being founded there. Goods such as fine cloth and spices from the Far East, rum, sugar and tobacco from the new world, tea from India, coffee, chocolate and precious wood from South America as well as other merchandise from around the globe have been traded there since the Middle Ages. Against the tide During World War II Hamburg was heavily bombed, but many of the historical structures were restored in the post-war years. In 1962 tragedy struck again and an enormous storm flood hit the city. Dikes collapsed, over 300 people died, 20,000 lost their homes and water was up to 3.8 meters high in some districts, while a great part of the port was destroyed. After reconstruction, Hafen City is now one of the most popular tourist destinations and areas such as the the Speicherstadt and the Kontorhausviertel (former warehouse and customs area) were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2015. With 2,500 bridges over canals and rivers, Hamburg has the highest number of bridges in Europe and outranks Venice by far. The city is remarkably green with many parks, lakes and rivers for weekend recreation. In view of climate change, Hamburg has initiated a series of roof top garden projects with greenery for all.
Beatlemania The city is well known for its cultural venues such as the Elbphilharmonie and Laeiszhalle concert halls and a number of renowned theaters and musical shows, such as “Cats” or the “Lion King,” which is performed on an island within the harbor. A popular British band, the Beatles, kickstarted its international career in Hamburg’s infamous “Star Club” in 1962. The city center is around the Innenalster (lake) with cafés, exclusive hotels, a number of museums and a renowned shopping district leading up to the “Jungfernstieg” (maiden walk). The promenade received its name based on times when fancy, young ladies strolled along the lake in hopes of meeting a fine beau to marry. Posh city sections such as Blankenese, Nienstedten and Othmarschen boast luxurious villas of wealthy merchant families and bankers. Seafarer tales and Störtebeker This majestic and historic Hanseatic city has so many sights to see that it would fill a whole guide book to describe them. To name a few must-see spots, visit the Landungsbrücken along the harbor, have a “Grog” (hot water with rum) in one of the old-fashioned seafarer pubs with fisher nets that tell tales of the city’s most prominent character Klaus Störtebeker. He made history as a legendary pirate who was decapitated in 1401 and a statue of him is located in Hafen City.
Fish at five in the morning? Stroll over the famous Fischmarkt starting at 5 a.m. every Sunday, grab a Fischbrötchen or “Steckenfisch” (on a skewer) and listen to a traditional German band in the wee morning hours. Enjoy a harbor cruise passing enormous cargo and luxurious cruise ships or privately owned yachts and sail by fancy Blankenese. Visit one of the maritime museum ships and explore Miniature Wonderland, the largest model train exhibition in Europe. Climb up the tower of St. Michaelis church, lovingly called “Michel,” or spend a night at the “Reeperbahn” district with nightlife and more. Germany’s most famous police station “David’s Wache” is also located along this road. Another entertainment district with live music clubs is the “Sternschanze” in the city center. Humorous Hamburg and an anniversary Hamburg greets up to 111 million tourists a year, 900,000 alone came by ship in 2018, and almost 14 million hotel stays were recorded in 2022, making it one of the most visited cities in Europe. It also ranked very high in a recent quality of living survey. There is also some humor to the city: its licence designation is HH (Hansestadt Hamburg), pronounced as “ha ha” in German. Hamburg is celebrating its 834th port anniversary from May 5-7 this year with a series of exciting events. For details visit: https://www.hamburg. com/port-anniversary/16795320/ activities/ or or more Hanseatic flair: thttps://www.hamburg.com/