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Hamburg,
city in north central Germany, on the Elbe and Alster rivers, near the North Sea. Its full name is the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. Hamburg is the second busiest seaport in Europe and a major commercial, industrial, and cultural center. Since 1937 the city has been coextensive with, and the capital of, the state of Hamburg (746 sq km/288 sq mi).
Hamburg consists of an old section on the eastern side of the Alster River, a new section on the western side, and several suburbs. The old section, which contains the heart of the commercial district, is crossed by numerous canals. Among the outstanding features of the city are the many bridges spanning the canals; Hamburg has more bridges than Amsterdam and Venice combined. Other points of interest are the Köhlbrandbrücke, a long suspension bridge (1975) across an arm of the Elbe; the Inner Alster and the Outer Alster, lakes created by a dam at the mouth of the Alster River; the ancient ramparts, converted into a system of gardens and promenades around the old section; and the Hopfenmarkt, a large public square. Noteworthy historic buildings include the City Hall, an elaborate Renaissance-style structure completed in 1897, and the churches of Saint Peter (begun 12th century), Saint James (13th-15th century), Saint Catherine (14th-15th century), and Saint Michael (late 18th century), noted for its lofty spire. The composers Felix Mendelssohn and Johannes Brahms were born in Hamburg, and the poet and dramatist Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock is buried in the Altona section of the city.
The city's many cultural institutions include the Kunsthalle, a museum with an extensive collection of 19th- and 20th-century painting; a museum of crafts and decorative arts; an ethnology museum with extensive collections of South Seas, African, and Siberian artifacts; a museum of Hamburg history; a modern opera house, noted for its production of contemporary operas; and several theaters. Hamburg has a large zoo and a botanical garden and is known for its Sankt Pauli amusement quarter, which has many nightclubs along the Reeperbahn. The city is the seat of a university, institutes of medicine, and a school of marine architecture. More than 80 foreign consulates are in the city. It is a leading center of radio and television broadcasting and film production.